As the dust begins to settle in Los Angeles, the unfortunate news of the death of two teenagers has rippled across the scene. In response to this news, LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis is planning to introduce a motion to ban all major music festivals on county property. Solis stated:
“I am deeply troubled by the fact that this is the third such death to happen in my district in the last year and a half. No one – no one should have to lose their life while attending a public concert.”
This is a statement that we completely agree with. No one should have to lose their life when they attend a music festival. An outright ban on music isn’t going to solve the problem, yet county officials are aggressively pursuing this ban by creating a timetable to expedite their investigation. Ideally, they’d like it to go into effect before the next HARD Summer event, set to be held at the County Fair Grounds on September 10th.
We think it’s important to discuss whether this is the right solution to the apparent problem. The knee jerk reaction would be to ban anything associated with a recurring problem. That being so, there are tons of cases throughout history where legislation chose to ban the issue rather than fix it, without considering the long-term ramifications. Here are just a few examples of how banning things have not worked out.
Important things happen in Pacific Northwest nightlife, and DMNW will send you alerts!
