Post in Keeping bars open longer for the RNC

Apr 04 20:38 UTC

I think extending the bar closing time for the RNC is silly, but this does
bring me a thought.... What about abolishing legally mandated closing times
*for good*? If there was no legally madated closing time, you wouldn't have the
surge of intoxicated people hitting the streets at once. I rarely stay out till
2 AM, but I remember seeing Hennepin Ave. a few times about 20 years ago at 1
AM, when that was bar closing time. Yikes!
     Understand there is a world of difference between "later closing" and "no
closing". Some states have 4 or 5 AM already. That pushes the drunken crowds
into the fringes of the morning rush hour. Not a good idea. No closing means
bars will close when they feel like it (and some might take full advantage and
be open 24/7 like they are in Nevada) and the discharge into the streets will
be staggered. *Any* mandated closing time serves as a challenge to be open the
whole time they can.
     If any law change (or more accurately, law enforcement change) should be
made for RNC, there should be a formal suspension of enforcement of
prostitution laws for the duration. One thing that America in general should
consider is having a system like the Netherlands, where certain things remain
technically illegal (like marijuana), but there are formal agreements on the
part of the authorities not to enforce the law as long as business is conducted
a certain way.