Indiana teens hoping to earn their driver's licenses face many restrictions. They must wait until they are 15 years old to get a learner's permit and then until after they turn 16 to take the test that could give them the right to drive alone.

Those rules may appear to be a logical way to prevent accidents, but not everyone supports them. In fact, a nonprofit organization, Americans for a Society Free from Age Restrictions, exists to abolish such laws.

Members of the group believe that all age-based limits infringe on civil rights.

Y-Press recently interviewed Justin Mallone, the group's current president. Some eighth-graders from Sycamore School, including Emily Gelfman, Isaac Hock, Mark Koivuniemi, Laura Marcus and Ted Timothy -- also expressed their views on youth rights.

Mallone, who lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., said he always has had an interest in the underlying principles of the youth rights movement, but his group allows him to take action. "I've seen the way young people are treated as second-class citizens even though in many situations they are more mature than some of the people who have all those rights," he explained. "ASFAR was the first organization I saw that was fighting for the cause."

The group was founded in 1996 by Matt Walcoff, then a student at the University of Maryland. The organization grew through its Web site and now has more than 500 members. Recently, members have been encouraged to form local chapters, which have been established in Salt Lake City and New York City, among other locations.

Although their basic belief that "all laws that are based on age should be repealed, and all government policies that discriminate by age should be reversed" might seem extremist, other youth rights groups exist. But Mallone said his group is unique in using "grassroots tactics" to oppose all U.S. age restrictions, not just one policy.

The students had mixed reactions to the organization's blanket opposition to age restrictions. While Mark disagreed "pretty much all across the board," Isaac sympathized with some of the group's values, calling all age limits "evil."

"Just say you're 17, and tomorrow is your birthday, and suddenly tomorrow comes and you're expected to be a responsible adult. I just don't think that one or two days or anything like that makes a difference in how you really act," Isaac said.

Emily agreed the current system needs to change. She suggested a court decide whether someone is competent enough to be considered an adult, much as it determines whether someone is insane. But she acknowledged her plan might be "naive" and expensive.

Advocating "equality before the law," Mallone's group would eliminate age restrictions on such activities as voting, carrying firearms and drinking alcohol. It also would eliminate compulsory education, putting children in charge of their learning, and repeal child labor laws in favor of "informed consent."

Mark in particular disagreed with the organization's stance on child labor. Before such laws, he said, "parents would become very, very irresponsible and send their children off to work and they wouldn't get a good education."

Far from seeing age restrictions as protective, organization members believe that in some cases the restrictions lead to hazardous situations. For example, Mallone said, curfew laws, which prohibit those under age 18 from being out in public without adult supervision during certain hours, are "a mechanism for scoring political brownie points and wasting police resources . . . because when the police are chasing the curfew violators, they're not chasing rapists and murderers."

Laws allowing corporal punishment also can be dangerous. "If you were to inflict corporal punishment on your spouse, well, that would be spousal abuse," Mallone said. "(With) your child, it's tough love."

Members even believe the drinking age poses a danger because it forces underage drinking underground. "Where would you rather let (kids) drink, if they're going to drink anyway? At a keg party or at a restaurant?" asked Mallone, who resents the fact that because he is under 21 he is denied access to facilities that serve alcohol -- even though he abstains from drinking.

Laura agreed, noting that "there is nothing more exciting to do than what is not allowed."

Emily was concerned by the difference between the drinking age and other restrictions. "You're not allowed to drink until you're 21," she said, "but you can get drafted at age 18. So in theory, are you . . . responsible enough to pick up a gun and shoot someone, but yet not responsible enough to regulate the amount of alcohol that is in your system?"

Mallone is especially passionate about abolishing the voting age, because without voting rights, youth have little influence with lawmakers.

Ted, however, thought that the voting age is "about right" because 18-year-olds have graduated from high school and are "beginning to understand the world."

Isaac disagreed, pointing out that "when women got the right to vote, everyone was saying that they'd vote like their husbands, and that's obviously not the case. My parents are conservatives, and I'm a liberal, and I really dislike their political views and I wouldn't vote like them."

"Even if (a kid's) opinion is derivative of their parents' opinion, I don't think that should be restricted," added Emily.

Mallone's group also opposes statutory rape laws and those denying youth access to casinos, credit cards, rental cars and movies with R or NC-17 ratings. The students agreed with the organization's position on movies.

"My friend and I, we wanted to see an R-rated movie, and my mom came with us to buy the tickets. They said that just he and I couldn't go to the movie by ourselves, and she had to accompany us, which I think is insulting," said Mark.

"When you start putting an age on things, parents stop thinking for themselves," Emily added.

But the participants were skeptical that the group would be able to change the rating system or any other restrictions. "It's just not realistic," said Mark.

Emily said abolishing age restrictions is worth fighting for.

"I think we have to give more trust and responsibility to the youths of America," she said, "because people have a tendency to act the way that people expect them to act."

ASSISTANT EDITOR: Emma Hulse, 15; Shannon Neumeyer, 14; Lisa O'Connor, 14.

REPORTER: Joey Gaines, 12.