The Greensboro City Council did not discuss the details of the proposed ordinance to regulate places that serve alcohol for consumption at the Tuesday, Jan. 5 work session.
The City Council discussion was more general about the need for and efficacy of such an ordinance. This may have been because the members of the City Council did not receive a copy of the proposed ordinance until about two hours before the meeting.
The proposed ordinance also was not available to the public on the city website as is the normal practice for items on the City Council work session agenda.
The proposed ordinance would regulate all businesses that serve alcohol for onsite consumption including bars, breweries, wineries, distilleries, restaurants, pool and billiard halls, dance halls, cocktail lounges, nightclubs, gaming establishments, bowling alleys, event centers, music halls and after hour clubs that have a occupancy capacity of 75 or more.
The proposed ordinance would go into effect if a homicide (either first or second degree murder), an aggravated assault or robbery with a dangerous weapon occurred inside the establishment or outside in areas “the businesses operate control such as entrances, patios and parking lots that patrons utilized to access the business.”
It appears that if someone who had been in an establishment that serves alcohol was robbed at gunpoint in the parking lot, the ordinance would go into effect.
If a criminal act of violence that is not a homicide occurred at one of the regulated businesses it would be required to add additional security personnel, both armed and unarmed, with a minimum requirement of one unarmed security guard for every 100 allowed patrons, operate at a reduced capacity, and close at an earlier time than allowed by the facility at the time of the act of violence.
The establishment will be closed until the security plan has been submitted to the city and will operate under that plan for 90 days, as long as there is not another act of criminal violence at that establishment during that time.
If a homicide occurs at one of the regulated businesses, it will be closed for a minimum of 10 days and until a security plan has been submitted and approved by the city. The plan will remain in effect for 150 days as long as there is not another act of violence during that time.
The establishment will be required to have a minimum of one unarmed security guard for every 75 patrons, operate at “a reduced maximum capacity determined by the City,” and close at a minimum of two hours earlier.
This is why people think that liberals are stupid. What use is an unarmed security guard if there is an armed person trying to kill another? Should the guard call the police or try to get the killer an appointment with a psychotherapist to discuss his aggression issues before he kills the other person? Having an unarmed guard just raises the potential death toll. is there any intelligent life in Greensboro city government? By the way, which council member is in the security guard business? If not, who will be the first to open this kind of business? Will Yvonne Johnson also get this contract? This whole thing is absurd. The city is shifting the burden and cost of law enforcement to businesses. This will also open up businesses to more lawsuits, keeping lawyers happy in Greensboro. Lawyers are one of the largest of groups funding Democrats.
So it’s started.
Supreme Leader wannabe Vaughn was waiting breathlessly for ANY excuse to begin her reign of socialist terrorism.
The cock & bull story she tried to sell people about the murder rate being the blame of bars and nightclubs was so transparent yet she doesn’t care.
You got what you asked Greensboro…hope you’re enjoying it
I thought Vaughn was retiring? Or was that just something that she thought about and mentioned several times over the years, and told others, who then started collecting donations for her continue running for office. She has out-lived her usefulness in office. Time to retire Yvonne.
How do they come up with stuff? It is all “a whole lot of nothing”. 10 days, 150 days, 75 patrons, ad nauseum.
How is the business’ fault if a customer or someone in the parking area commits a felony?
The polys M.O. is to “blame” someone, any target they can come up with to further their agenda. I think the Japanese have the right way to treat a bad result, an errerr. Instead of dumping on someone, they look for solutions. That is the mentality that made them a power in consumer products like………..Automobiles. We have three Nip cars, haven’t owned a piece of Detroit Iron since the 70s.
Maybe the City Council should apply the same rules to themselves and their Districts. If someone is murdered in their district they should be forced to recuse themselves from service for 10 days( w/no pay) and then pay out of their pocket for a security guard to patrol the area where crime occurred for 150 days. If no more crime occurs, fine. But if it does then they can pay a fine and start the whole process over.
Maybe we should close the city council for 10 days every time one of the councilmembers engages in an act of stupidity.
What a guy! Sorry Wayne, it is not stupidity. It is stoopiditty. You don’t want to look bad in print.
Hey Jim and Hanna, lets go open that bar/restaurant we always wanted in Greensboro, NC. That city is trying to build up the downtown area, get people to come shop, spend the day and stay for dinner and maybe a few drinks. Lots of up and coming young people moving back, middle class looking to get out for an evening or two. And then,,, wait , what? If for whatever reason we have a fight at the bar, or outside, or in the parking lot after we have closed and gone home, we have to add extra security, maybe armed security and write out a detailed plan on how to prevent future fights?! Hey Jim and Hanna, how’s Winston look?
We have such great elected folks , absolutely NO COMMON SENSE.
The comments here are interesting, because although this is additional regulation, which most readers of this newspaper would consider a negative, I don’t think this is the worst outcome. If we assume a few things, 1) that crime is unacceptably high and the government should intervene to reduce it, 2) there’s data indicating that most of this crime stems from identifiable “bad actors”, 3) an effective way to prevent such crime is with additional security, and 4) the city does not currently have the resources to provide additional security, this seems like a rational solution.
If data indicates that the bad actor bars and nightclubs are not currently taking steps to provide a safe environment and are relying on police resources to provide it for them, while other bars and nightclubs are taking steps to provide security, then those bad actors are disproportionately using municipal resources while paying the same in taxes, which isn’t really a free market solution. This proposal levels the playing field for establishments that have already invested in safety measures. Said another way, establishments that disproportionately rely on municipal police for security are being subsidized by the government, and if you can’t afford to run a bar/nightclub and make it safe, then the free market should shut you down.
Consider the alternative solution, which is that the city should hire more police officers because the bad actor establishments require a disproportionate police presence. Instead of the bad actors paying for their security, we then all pay for it through increased taxes and continue to subsidize them. That doesn’t seem consistent with principles espoused by free market advocates.
Obviously, there are some assumptions here, but I don’t think the city’s proposal is the radical socialist solution that it may at first appear to be.
I’m damned sure glad I don’t live in Greensboro, where city government stupidity is rampant. Unfortunately, I live in Skip Austin’s county of Guilford with the same disease, proving that stupidity is very contagious, and more people need quarantining.
Is it now Randolph, or Rockingham?
I’m thinking Switzerland, but I’ll need some lottery cash first.
A do you know what the 9 most dangerous words in the English language are “ I’m from the government and I’m here to help “ glad I’m not stupid.