Mayor Jerry Sanders Veto Beach Ban

We encourage and call upon San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders to veto the proposed ban on alcohol on the beaches of our fine city.

We believe that banning alcohol from the beaches will 1) punish peaceful and law-abiding citizens; 2) NOT discourage alcohol use, but simply move it elsewhere; 3) waste police and lifeguard resources when they are needed for our protection from ACTUAL crime and to save lives; and 4) become an undue burden on beach-area merchants.

Although mayhem ensued on Labor Day as a result of criminals breaking the law, that incident, and others, were a result of acts which are already illegal, and not a result of alcohol. If one is willing to assault a police officer, he is also likely to break a minor local alcohol ordinance without much thought, and a ban is not a deterrent for such a criminal. In other words, the criminals broke the law and were punished to the full extent of the law, and our current laws are perfectly adequate to handle such situations. So it stands to reason that new laws are not necessary.

Furthermore, the the peaceful and law-abiding citizens of San Diego, as well as our millions of visitors, do not deserve to lose their rights due to the illegal actions of a few.

We call upon Mr. Sanders to stand up for the citizens of this fine city. Enforce the laws already on the books, and protect our right to peacefully enjoy the beach.