U.S. city requires armed guards at some restaurants

[Howzit]

http://news.yahoo.com/u-city-requires-armed-guards-restaurants-031504655.html

"NEW YORK (Reuters) - Small restaurants in the city of Newark, New Jersey will be required to have an armed security guard at night under a new law approved by the city council.

The rule comes in the wake of a drive-by shooting in May at the Texas Fried Chicken and Pizza restaurant, where an off-duty Newark police officer was killed.

Under the ordinance, approved by the council unanimously on Thursday, restaurants that serve 15 or fewer people must hire an armed guard to stand watch after 9 p.m. Those unwilling to pay for a security guard must close by 10 p.m.

"If they want to stay open that late, they should provide security. If not, they should close," said Councilman Ras Baraka, who wrote the bill, in a telephone interview."


The mind boggles, but at least it is an admission that there is no police protection and that zero protection is not a good option.


OOPS. I see a thread on this already at http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=118x435024#435024

[Fumesucker]

1. Because no one would *ever* do a drive by on a restaurant that serves more than 15 people..

:eyes:

[Howzit]

2. Over 15 people, and one of them is bound to shoot back with an illegal gun

There is no legal CC in NJ...

[Fumesucker]

3. Are the drive bys part of a gang war situation?

Or just random terror?

[Howzit]

4. Gang drive-bys NT

[Fumesucker]

5. What difference does the size of the restaurant have to do with whether a gang member has a gun?

If they're going after gang members then those members are just as likely to be armed in a small place as a big one.

[Howzit]

8. You should ask the law makers on why smaller restaurants are considered more dangerous.

Otherwise your logic is impeccable.

[eqfan592]

6. That's not entirely true.

There IS legal CC, it's just VERY hard to come by because NJ is a "may issue" state.

[Howzit]

7. I stand corrected. NT

[Taitertots]

9. Have you ever seen an upscale restaurant that served less than 15 people?

This is about targeting the poor, because the rich won't pay for sufficient police protection for the masses.

[TheWraith]

10. Well, that's utterly pointless.

There is nothing that a security guard is going to be able to do to prevent a drive-by shooting. That's the entire point of such attacks: they're almost impossible to defend against. And meanwhile, this is just going to close down otherwise decent restaurants which cater to the overnight crowd, but can't afford to hire a guard.