Lincoln might lower dancing age - Omaha World-Herald

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LINCOLN â€" Alcohol, loud music, adults and dancing.

Now throw your teenage daughter into that mix.

City officials are considering allowing 18-year-olds to attend public dances in taverns and clubs where alcohol is sold. Currently, you have to be at least 19.

Police Chief Tom Casady would just as soon keep things the way they are. His officers issued nearly 2,000 tickets last year for alcohol-related violations involving minors.

“If parents knew what I knew, they would just cringe at the thought of a 25-year-old man grinding with their (teenage) daughter” on the dance floor, Casady said.

Omaha went through a similar debate about two years ago, when questions were raised about whether minors could legally attend indie rock concerts at venues that operate as stand-alone bars when no concerts are booked.

The Omaha City Council eventually adopted an ordinance that requires parents to sign notarized permission slips to allow those younger than 17 to attend concerts at bars like Slowdown and the Waiting Room.

Lincoln venues that want to hold similar events have gained a sympathetic ear from City Council Chairman Doug Emery, who said it wasn't all that long ago that his 26-year-old son was a music-crazy teenager.

Emery is seeking the amendment to allow 18-year-olds into bars for music shows after 9 p.m. He says that would allow most college freshmen to enjoy the downtown music scene with their friends.

“Most 18-year-olds are living on campus, they've accepted a certain amount of responsibility. We need to allow them the ability to be responsible,” he said.

Emery said his amendment probably will get a public hearing before the City Council later this month or in early March.

City ordinances on the subjects of alcohol and dancing admittedly are confusing.

A 1930s dance ordinance bars those under age 19 from attending dances at restaurants, taverns and private clubs where alcohol is sold.

The restrictions don't cover invitation-only dances, street dances, dances at public parks or on public grounds, or high school dances and dances at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

On the other hand, a city liquor ordinance allows those 16 and older to go into bars unaccompanied by adults. Those under age 16 must be accompanied by an adult after 9 p.m.

Casady said the dance ordinance apparently was put into place to prevent teenagers from socializing with adults who have been drinking.

He believes there's still justification today to keep at least the younger teens out of adult dance clubs, but he isn't taking a formal position on whether the age 19 restriction should be retained or changed.

While most people accept age limits on drinking and smoking, some question an age restriction on dancing.

“There is no harm in permitting 18-year-olds to attend concerts with adults,” said Heidi Ore of Lincoln, a mother of two who plays bass in the local band Mercy Rule.

“In Lincoln, teenagers routinely attend events with adults where alcohol is served â€" hockey games, concerts at Pershing, even Chuck E. Cheese. Should they be banned from those venues, too?”

Casady said parents don't always know what their teenagers are up to.

In 2009, Lincoln police wrote 1,816 tickets for minors in possession of alcohol, 116 tickets for minors using fake IDs and 21 tickets for minors trying to purchase alcohol.

Casady said dropping the dance age to 18 probably would not greatly affect the statistics â€" police already have to deal with problems caused by 19- and 20-year-olds mingling with those who have reached the legal drinking age of 21.

Managers of local nightclubs and bars say they could safely accommodate younger patrons.

“No one wants our young people to be in a place that they aren't safe,” said Jeremy Buckley, events coordinator at the Bourbon Theatre in downtown Lincoln. He wrote to Emery asking that the ordinance be changed.

“We feel that we could keep a very safe environment available at that show,” he said. “I believe that if people are in the audience with ill intentions, they will be pointed out and dealt with.”

The current age restriction cuts into concert attendance and affects the amount of money Buckley can offer bands to play in Lincoln.

“Omaha venues could easily outbid us, and we can't host the show at all,” he said.

Some Lincoln teens who want to dance head to the Pla Mor Ballroom, just outside Lincoln's city limits, where the current ordinance doesn't apply. It has offered weekly dances to those 16 and older for the past 28 years. The venue features country bands and a fully stocked bar.

Pla Mor owner Bobby Layne said he takes precautions to protect minors, such as requiring them to fill out a form with their driver's license number and parental contact information.

“Safety is our strong point,” he said. “Kids come here simply because they love to dance. … They are good kids, they come here to dance and that's their primary thing.”

World-Herald staff writer Leslie Reed contributed to this report.

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