Why would Columbia outlaw social hour for night owls?

Sen. John Courson didn’t plot political corruption in a late-night bar. Columbia City Councilman Moe Baddourah didn’t have an altercation with his wife leaving a bar late at night. Twenty-year-old Allen Gasque wasn’t leaving a late-night bar when he was punched and run over by a car near Williams-Brice Stadium.

What happens during late hours at a bar? Wouldn’t you know it: the same thing that happens during the day. People gather, spend money, meet and make life-long friends, and unwind from work or school. We have a vibrant restaurant industry in this town whose workers sometimes go out after shifts. We have students who sometimes stay out late. It’s their time to unwind, have fun and share stories.

Sure, there are isolated problems. But staffs at late-night bars are trained to handle these problems, and they happen a lot less frequently than at a USC football game. I wish Columbia City Council, and especially Howard Duvall, wouldn’t try to legislate the time of day someone can unwind. I pray they all have better things to do for this city than take away cocktail hour for night owls.