Two weeks after a 17-year-old girl was shot to death at the Smarta/Broadway nightclub, Council Member Jim Graham, D-Ward 1, Tuesday proposed legislation that would bar minors from such establishments unless specific security measures are in place.
The bill, the Protection and Safety of Underage Persons Amendment Act of 2007, restricts people aged 21 and under from being in licensed nightclubs, taverns or restaurants that provide entertainment after 11 p.m. unless they are accompanied by a parent or guardian or unless the licensee submits a detailed security plan. Such a plan must include information about how patrons would be identified and searched, crowd control and procedures for ensuring underage patrons are not served alcohol.
“What this legislation really is aimed at is the bad apples,” Graham said before introducing the bill Tuesday.
Taleisha Ford, 17, of Northeast, was shot when a man entered the club, located at 1919 Ninth St. in Northwest, before 2:30 a.m. Jan. 20 and got into a scuffle with an employee. Metropolitan police have charged Jamel Mackabee, 19, of Silver Spring, with first-degree armed murder.
Ford’s family members said the club allowed her in after she assured a bouncer that she was 18 and paid an additional $5 because she did not have identification with her.
Immediately following Ford’s death, Graham promised legislation addressing the issue minors in nightclubs, which prompted an outcry from some residents who questioned whether the issue was not underage patrons but how someone with a weapon was able to get into the bar. The District currently does not ban minors from any establishment where alcohol is sold with the exception of liquor stores during school hours.
“The Taleisha Ford tragedy was a result of various cases,” Graham said. “Surely the fact that this city [is] suffering from an epidemic of substance abuse and is awash in illegal handgun are major contributing factors.”
