NIGHTLIFE
Legislation Might Allow You to Stay Out Longer
January13th, 2006
The Michigan state Senate approved a bill 35-0, to allow Michigan’s bars and clubs to remain open past the current deadline of 2 a.m. The House approved the legislation in June. Though alcohol sales would have to stop at 2 a.m., other activities at the neighborhood drinking establishment - comedy, dancing and everything except “Topless Dancing” - could continue indefinitely. Most concerns about the potential dangers of allowing people to party past that magical hour of 2 a.m. have been about the concerns of giving patrons more time to consume alcohol.
This law could give patrons that much needed time to sober up before the drive home. Hopefully this would reduce the Drunk Driving cases, the bill would also help residents and business owners and, more importantly, make drinking safer in the state. Why has it taken so long for our State to realize a law like this should have been passed years ago? England already leads the way in this regard, just a week after a British law allowing pubs to remain open 24 hours took effect was when Michigan started looking in to changing our current laws.
By allowing clubs and bars to remain open longer, most of the concerns over dangers from prolonged alcohol consumption would be avoided. This law avoids this danger by maintaining restrictions on alcohol sales past 2 a.m., further more; an extended-hours permit would not allow topless activity, gambling, Keno or the consumption of any alcohol, just the much needed time to sober up. Hopefully by allowing patrons more time to hang out, eat, dance and rest, it would actually decrease the dangers of drunk driving.
Some bar owners might feel prohibiting alcohol sales defeats the purpose of remaining open longer, arguing there is no reason for people to remain at a bar if they can’t keep drinking. But the state is not making bar owners stay open, it is simply lifting the arbitrary 2 a.m. curfew. And, bar owners can still make money by providing entertainment and food for those drunken appetites. Who wouldn’t want to decrease the chances of getting that dreaded call that someone who left your bar last night, got popped for drunk driving, even worse was in an accident? I know at the establishment that I work at, we are allowed to stay open till 4 a.m. on New Years Eve; most years by 3:30 a.m., most people whom have stuck around till the end have already sobered up and are able to drive home because we give last call at 2:30 a.m.
Most major cities are the center of nightlife in their respective metropolitan areas. Detroit, however, has for years taken the backseat even to small suburbs when it comes to late-night entertainment. If Gov. Jennifer Granholm signs the bill into law, Detroit would benefit. To obtain a permit, a business would have to receive approval from the state Liquor Control Commission, the local police chief and the local legislative body. Owners of a new Detroit dance club told the Detroit Free Press, “A lot of clubs in New York, Miami and Los Angeles don’t close till three, four, five o’clock in the morning. And in Detroit, most people don’t get out until 11 p.m.” Giving patrons more than three hours to burn their cash could persuade more suburbanites to venture into Detroit and may even help accelerate the city’s revitalization. Maybe this would make Detroit and the surrounding suburbs a destination, rather than making people travel to neighboring states for weekend extravaganzas. Why does Michigan allow people to drink till 2 a.m., and then tell them that they have a half hour to get out and get behind the wheel? This is currently what we are doing and I thin it’s wrong. If you allow patrons the ability to drink till 2 a.m., give them some time to sober up before leaving and getting behind the wheel.
Closer to home, this change would allow Local college and University students — who rarely make it to a bar earlier than 11 p.m., to actually have a night out. With binge drinking a major concern with local colleges, you might think that our current law almost encourages it. Let your voices be heard on this one and make sure you tell your local politicians to make this law pass.
Scott Garner
scott@stldmag.com
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