Last Call!!!
Word on the street is that City Council is supposed to vote next week on having all bars close at 2am permanently. This is completely unsubstantiated and really doesn’t make any sense from a business standpoint. The only thing I can come up with, if it is true, is that the feds might be exerting force on local officials to say: “Hey, we’re dumping all this money into your city to rebuild it, it would be a lot easier to garner support nationally if people weren’t out drinking all night.” I seem to recall the feds putting pressure on state and local officials regarding the drinking age by making a minimum drinking age of 21 as a qualifier to get federal highway funding.
Anyone else heard these rumors or can speak to this?
Related posts:
I cannot speak to this particular issue, but it wouldn’t surprise me. You’re right about the federal funding and the drinking age — the first Reagan administration did this exact thing. It threatened to pull highway funding from states that didn’t raise the age to 21. South Dakota challenged it, but the courts upheld the administration. Basically, the ruling said while drinking age is indeed a state issue under the Constitution, the feds were within their rights to determine rules for federal cash distribution, as long as they applied equally to all the states.
I also can’t imagine the council bringing this kind of issue up, since it’s redundant with the curfew in place. And I can’t imagine the feds pushing it, particularly now, with regional anger at the feds at an all-time high and the party of “less gubmint” already taking heat from all sides on a series of issues, domestically and overseas.
But stranger things have happened.
That would be the craziest thing I’ve ever heard. Next thing you know the federal government will be holding people in secret prisons and torturing them and passing laws that are in direct violation of the Bill of Rights.
Here’s a link to the Council’s rules.
http://www.cityofno.com/portal.aspx?portal=1&tabid=9#4
According to Section 3-112, the Council can submit an ordinance but it has to lie for 6 days before they can vote on it. It also has to be made available to the public no later than 2 days after it is submitted.
Additionally, the mayor has veto power. There is no way in hell he will approve that ordinance if he wants to get elected again. And any city council member who votes for it will assuredly never be elected to any position in New Orleans again. Meaning that as soon as those council members are gone, so is the 2am ordinance.
Porch parties!!!
Just like high school. Keep us out of bars and we will party at mom and dads.
By the way, how about some love for this Forum I set up.
thanks.
“…the Council can submit an ordinance but it has to lie for 6 days before they can vote on it.”
Well, it’s not like the Council has never lied before.
Um, once they realize they ain’t makin’ money off of us…….
It’ll take’m awhile, but they’ll figur’ it out!
Laurie