Members of our Hawai’i State Legislature have introduced four bills to lower the legal blood alcohol concentration for driving from 0.08 to 0.05 percent.

As the mother of a 19-year-old who was killed by a drunk driver, I support this change.

My daughter, Hannah, had so much life ahead of her when she was taken from us. Please take a moment to step into my shoes as you read this.

We need our legislators to take a stand lowering the alcohol limit. Not only will it reduce drinking and driving, it will also stop repeat offenders.

Nothing can bring back our daughter, but we can save other lives. The pain our family feels every day is what motivates me to educate our community about the risks of drinking and driving.

I believe if our legislators lost friends or family the same way we lost Hannah, they would have no problem passing this bill.

It can be hard to imagine the depth of our loss when you haven’t experienced it yourself.

I am confident passing a bill to lower the blood alcohol limit to 0.05 is one of the best changes we can make for the future of our Hawai’i.

Charlene Brown

Kula