Days after a 15-year-old girl was shot to death while being out on her aunt's porch during overnight hours, the Bridgeport City Council passed an ordinance requiring youths under the age of 18 to be off the streets after 11 p.m.
According to the Connecticut Post, Mayor Bill Finch told reporters he would sign the ordinance today. As the Post reported, police will be able to ban anyone under 18 from being out in public without a parent or legal guardian between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., from Sunday through Thursday and between midnight at 6 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Families can be fined up to $90 if a minor is caught outside during these restricted times, the Post reported.
The move has garnered both support and backlash from the community, questions remain whether or not the legality of this curfew will be challenged.
The American Civil Liberties Union in Connecticut released a statement calling it a violation of Bridgeport youths’ constitutional rights, and the one dissenting vote on the Bridgeport City Council told WTNH he opposes the curfew based on the belief that it’ll lead to racial profiling.
Similarly, the town of Vernon instituted a curfew back in 2003, however a federal judge overturned the curfew ordinance following a court challenge by the ACLU. Also, following the death of a young man who was stabbed multiple times by a group of people.
Either way, Bridgeport officials are moving forward with the ordinance, despite another potential challenge from the ACLU.
What is your take on this? Would you support a youth curfew if it were implemented in your community? Or is do you agree that this a violation of youths’ Constitution rights? Take our poll and share your thoughts in the comments.
