State Issued Teen Curfews Should Be Less Strict
“23% of cities stated that the increased costs of enforcing curfews made it difficult to have the laws be effective” (Gaille). A curfew is regulated time in which people need to be inside. For example, In Detroit the curfew on June 19th was 6 p.m. for anyone under the age of 18 years old. If this curfew rule happens to be broken there could be many different consequences, such as: parental meetings, citations, fines, arrests, and even jail time. The United States Conference of Mayors stated that, “70% of U.S. cities have a nighttime curfew” (Cochran). With that many strict curfews, you can imagine how many innocent kids are getting stopped on the streets by policemen. That is why state issued …show more content…
As said in the Orlando Sentinel, “It would be an abridgement of personal freedom. When a person, by law, is not allowed outside after a certain time, then that person’s freedom has been taken away” (Enfinger). When these harsh laws were set they were targeted at teens who wander outside late at night. What they didn’t realize is that not all those kids are harmful. This is quite unfair for those who need some fresh air after a long day at school or to just get away. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has been fighting curfews for awhile now. In a letter they sent to Detroit explained that, “this year’s proposed ordinance violates young people’s right to free association and illegally singles them out as a target for police harassment, detention, and arrest” (ACLU Letter). Not only will kids go out to get away from people, but they will go meet up with a group of people. Such as church groups, pep …show more content…
New Orleans had just set a citywide 8 p.m. teen curfew thinking it would be a great idea when actually it, “would be a draconian measure that could harm New Orleans’ reputation as a family tourist destination. It sends that message that even families shouldn’t be out on the streets after a certain hour” (Curb the Curfew). This quote is great because it is exactly right. Why would a tourist family want to explore the city knowing that their is a 8 p.m. curfew? What happens here? Are there a lot of crimes? Should we ever come back? Those sort of questions could be asked about your city/state based purely on your set curfews. Us teenagers have been getting ridiculed for “always being inside” or “watching too much television” then when we want to go outside we can’t, because it is illegal. Brianna Heinrichs of the Edmonton Journal explains, “why should we forbid law-abiding young citizens from going outside at night, perhaps to watch the stars at the park? Youth curfews promote a false stereotype that all youth are delinquent or immature.” Brianna Heinrichs brings up a great point involving stereotypes. Those are the exact reasons why the state sets such unfair curfews, because us teenagers are “so immature” that we apparently can not handle ourselves being out past nine. A study done in Vernon, Connecticut, “shows that 400 teens that were fined for curfew violations, only three
“23% of cities stated that the increased costs of enforcing curfews made it difficult to have the laws be effective” (Gaille). A curfew is regulated time in which people need to be inside. For example, In Detroit the curfew on June 19th was 6 p.m. for anyone under the age of 18 years old. If this curfew rule happens to be broken there could be many different consequences, such as: parental meetings, citations, fines, arrests, and even jail time. The United States Conference of Mayors stated that, “70% of U.S. cities have a nighttime curfew” (Cochran). With that many strict curfews, you can imagine how many innocent kids are getting stopped on the streets by policemen. That is why state issued …show more content…
As said in the Orlando Sentinel, “It would be an abridgement of personal freedom. When a person, by law, is not allowed outside after a certain time, then that person’s freedom has been taken away” (Enfinger). When these harsh laws were set they were targeted at teens who wander outside late at night. What they didn’t realize is that not all those kids are harmful. This is quite unfair for those who need some fresh air after a long day at school or to just get away. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has been fighting curfews for awhile now. In a letter they sent to Detroit explained that, “this year’s proposed ordinance violates young people’s right to free association and illegally singles them out as a target for police harassment, detention, and arrest” (ACLU Letter). Not only will kids go out to get away from people, but they will go meet up with a group of people. Such as church groups, pep …show more content…
New Orleans had just set a citywide 8 p.m. teen curfew thinking it would be a great idea when actually it, “would be a draconian measure that could harm New Orleans’ reputation as a family tourist destination. It sends that message that even families shouldn’t be out on the streets after a certain hour” (Curb the Curfew). This quote is great because it is exactly right. Why would a tourist family want to explore the city knowing that their is a 8 p.m. curfew? What happens here? Are there a lot of crimes? Should we ever come back? Those sort of questions could be asked about your city/state based purely on your set curfews. Us teenagers have been getting ridiculed for “always being inside” or “watching too much television” then when we want to go outside we can’t, because it is illegal. Brianna Heinrichs of the Edmonton Journal explains, “why should we forbid law-abiding young citizens from going outside at night, perhaps to watch the stars at the park? Youth curfews promote a false stereotype that all youth are delinquent or immature.” Brianna Heinrichs brings up a great point involving stereotypes. Those are the exact reasons why the state sets such unfair curfews, because us teenagers are “so immature” that we apparently can not handle ourselves being out past nine. A study done in Vernon, Connecticut, “shows that 400 teens that were fined for curfew violations, only three