Yikes!! a law to keep adults ages 18 to 20 out of bars...

[Rosie the Riveter]

Just like the smoking ban -- it should be the right of the establishment to admit customers as they see fit. Nightclub problem? --please --I'm downtown at a bar at least one night a week and it doesn't seem like we have a problem. It seems like a good time is had by all.

No easy solution seen to nightclub problem
By MARK HAYWARD
Union Leader Staff
14 hours, 9 minutes ago


Manchester ? Officials of organizations in and out of state government are looking at whether state laws should be changed to prevent nightclubs from admitting customers 18 to 20 years of age, according to people involved in the discussion.

No proposals have been finalized, and Liquor Commission Enforcement Chief Eddie Edwards said there is no consensus on how to go about it. But Edwards said the effort is needed to address a serious problem with nightclubs in downtown Manchester and communities throughout the state.

Time and time again, Edwards said, his enforcement officers see problems when drinkers and underage drinkers mix late at night in clubs where alcohol is sold.

"The real issue we're dealing with is 10, 11, 12 (at night), and the only thing there is entertainment, dancing and alcohol. That's difficult for these establishments to control," Edwards said.

But the head of a lobbying organization that represents restaurants does not want any liquor laws changed.

"Instead of creating a law that makes it easier for them to do the job they do, you enforce the laws you have on the books," said Kevin Sullivan, chairman of the 700-plus member New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Association.

"We don't want to do anything to hurt business," said state Sen. Lou D'Allesandro, who has been part of discussions. "But we want to prevent 18-year-olds from getting into the kind of difficulties that have presented themselves in Manchester. We have to come up with a way to deal with that."

Edwards said he is only at the brainstorming stage at this point. He has conferred with restaurant owners, Mayor Frank Guinta's office, state senators from Manchester and New Futures, an Exeter-based organization working to reduce problems associated with underage drinking, he said.

Some are worried about the effect any changes would have on a restaurant such as an Applebee's, which serves food to people of any age but also sells drinks.

In fact, a committee of Manchester aldermen earlier this week killed a suggestion that the city prohibit unaccompanied minors from entering city-licensed establishments in the late-night hours.

"It means kids can't go into a pizza place that's selling beer," said Alderman Dan O'Neil, who opposed the suggestion. Committee members killed the proposal but said legislation was needed to address nightclubs and underage drinkers.

One possibility involves prohibiting underage drinkers from a full-service establishment after a certain time at night. Another possibility would be to issue a nightclub license. A business with a nightclub license would not be required to sell food, but underage drinkers would be prohibited from the club.

"It's a system that works in many states," Edwards said. The former nightclub Omega and the Millyard restaurant Fratello's -- two vastly different businesses -- both operated under the same kind of license, Edwards said.

Currently, a business that holds a full-service liquor license must generated half of its revenue from food sales and half from alcohol, up to $75,000 a year. After that threshold is reached, the ratio is lifted and a business can generate revenue either way.

Nightclubs get around the provision by offering snacks for sale. Also, soft drinks, juice and bottled water -- much of it purchased by the underage drinkers -- qualify as food sales, Edwards said.

But Sullivan said he doesn't favor a nightclub license. It would seriously threaten the family atmosphere of New Hampshire establishments, he said. Also, it would also put a restaurant owner, who has to invest thousands of dollars in restaurant equipment, at a disadvantage to a nightclub.

A late-night ban on underage drinkers would penalize clubs with a good track record, such as the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom, Sullivan said.

Edwards said there is a difficult balance involved, and he doesn't want to hurt a business that doesn't have a problem.

"In order to resolve this issue," he said, "everyone's got to be at the table."

[KBCraig]

Because of the way alcohol-serving establishments are licensed in NH, this would actually keep under-21 out of restaurants, which is the kind of license held by nightclubs. True private clubs in NH are a very different animal.

Kevin

[Dave Ridley]

silent demonstrator inbound

[Pat K]

Oh for the love of God don't these  sorry bastards ever stop.

[error]

No, those sorry bastards don't ever stop; at least not until they learn how misguided they are.

[Spencer]

We should take them out for some drinks . . . it might loosen them up a bit.

[Transition Force]

Consider yourself lucky. Yours is the first state that I know of *not* to have a law like this already in place.


*/rants about utah's draconian civil rights laws.....*

*wishes he were in NH*

[Rosie the Riveter]

Consider yourself lucky. Yours is the first state that I know of *not* to have a law like this already in place.


*/rants about utah's draconian civil rights laws.....*

*wishes he were in NH*

I love NH for NOT having laws that require helmets, seatbelts, insurance, sales or income tax and non-smoking establishments. As a NH native, my family and I, consider it normal to have these choices. Respectfully, I fear if I consider myself "lucky" to have a choice then I might forget to fight when government wants to take my choice away.

[FTL_Ian]

Lower drinking age, "problem" solved.

[error]

Lower drinking age, "problem" solved.

I agree. Lower it to zero.

[FTL_Ian]

[burnthebeautiful]

First of all, I think it's pretty cute that 10pm is considered to be "late at night" in New Hampshire. Over here that's about when most nightclubs open.

If nightclubs considered this a problem they'd do something about it themselves, like put stamps on underagers hands or hire a guy to check ID at the door. Obviously the only people who consider this a problem are the stupid parents who can't keep an eye on their kids and bureaucrats wanting to be "tough on alcohol".

In Sweden the standard bar license lets you be open until 01, with cities being allowed to grant extended hours to as late as 05am. So the amount of late-closing bars in a given Swedish town depends completely on how many anti-drinking nazi's are in that towns government.

[aries]

Bars serve things beside alcohol... and plenty of people between 18 and 20 have friends over 21 they'd like to accompany there for a bit.

There's no reason to illegalize it. Bartenders must ID when they take an order for an alcoholic beverage anyway.

More fake ID's, please.

[Rosie the Riveter]

If nightclubs considered this a problem they'd do something about it themselves, like put stamps on underagers hands or hire a guy to check ID at the door. Obviously the only people who consider this a problem are the stupid parents who can't keep an eye on their kids and bureaucrats wanting to be "tough on alcohol".

The bars do this...they have bouncers, check ID and used stamps and wrist bands... I think the "problem" that the government sees is that there are not enough "officials" to enforce the "rules"... thank god for that!

[mappchik]

Here's a silly question...

Would this law also apply to any person under the age of 21 who works in these establishments?

I worked at a couple of local sports bars in SC when I was in college, and for the first year after. Wasn't "legal" until just about the time I quit for a day job at a publisher. On nights I worked, I was in the building until closing, long after the bouncer stopped admitting the under 21 crowd (around 9pm).

I was a serving wench, and there were not many of us who were over 21. The bus boys, kitchen assistants and even the bar back were also all under 21. Won't this type of thing seriously impact young people in more ways than just their leisure time?