Poll: Under-21 Bar Ban
A state legislator's bill to ban people under 21 years of age from entering alcohol-serving nightclubs is up for a hearing tonight — do you think it will work?
Saying that allowing people under age 21 to go to nightclubs that serve alcohol is "a breeding ground for trouble," State Rep. Joy Hearn (D-Barrington, East Providence) has introduced a bill to stop the practice.
Hearn’s bill, house bill No. 7468, was scheduled to be debated Tuesday afternoon. Following that hearing, it was held for further study, which is often used by committees to kill a bill. For the text of the bill, see the attached PDF.
In Narragansett, Clam Jammers in Galilee came under fire after serving to people younger than 21 earlier this year. The bar accepted sanctions imposed on it by the town council in late March.
“I’ve introduced this bill before, but never has this been a more critical problem than it is today with all of the violence happening at our nightclubs," Hearn said in a press release.
Hearn noted the recent violence at a downtown Providence clubs, including an early-morning riot outside Level 2 reported on Easter Sunday by WPRI.com.
"The legal drinking age is 21 because that is an age when individuals are generally mature enough to handle the responsibility of alcohol," she said. "When you have underage individuals in an environment where there is alcohol being served, it’s just a breeding ground for trouble."
What do you think?
Is the ban on under-21 customers a good idea?
And, more importantly, will it work?
Do you think a state law will stop bars and nightclubs from allowing people under 21 years of age from entering?
Take our poll, and add your comments below.
Tim
11:55 am on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
It's my understanding, please correct me if I'm wrong, that this bill prohibits anyone at any time, who is under the age of 21 from entering a nightclub where alcohol is served. Day or night. I find this too strict and think the bill should have some kind of wording so the law takes place after 9:00 PM or something like that.
Matunucks Ocean Mist often has entertainment on Sunday afternoon in the summer and I find it to be a family friendly type of event and would hate to see them penalized at 4:00 PM for something that generally happens at 2:00 AM.
I'm glad it was 'held for further study'.
Stephen Greenwell
1:16 pm on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Tim, I think for most things, places like Ocean Mist and Clam Jammers are classified as restaurants vs. nightclubs. If I'm recalling correctly, the only place that Narragansett has classified as a nightclub in recent years was the now-closed Pompeii, which had a slew of other issues as well. However, I thought it was an interesting poll to post, in light of the issues some local places have had.
Ted Geisel
9:55 am on Thursday, May 3, 2012
I feel like as a society we want to have it both ways when it comes to young people. They are too young to know better and shouldn't drink until they are 21... but you're more than welcome to make the decision to go off and fight for your country if you're 18. Does it make sense that you're given a gun and put in the position where you may even have to take someones life but when you come back to the states you aren't responsible enough to have a beer? Does that make sense to anyone?
When a a 15 or 16 year old commits a crime what happens? It's a miracle! They knew better and had the cognitive reasoning of an adult so we'll charge them like an adult in court. Happens all the time when it's convenient.
As a society we need to make a decision. Are you an adult at 15? 18? 21? Which is it?