Cyber-Café Ordinance Fights Small Business Not Crime

By Chris Prevatt

Letter published in Garden Grove Journal regarding the City Cyber-Cafe Ordinance

Cyber Café Ordinance Fights Small Business Not Crime

With the current court injunction delaying the implementation of the Garden Grove Cyber Café ordinance, it is time for our City Council to actually address the problem of gang and youth violence rather than trying to shut down an emerging form of entertainment the keeps teenagers off the streets. Their next decision should be based on common sense and logic, not emotion and political convenience.

The Council now has the opportunity to revisit its Cyber Café regulations and ask a simple question when looking at each provision of a new ordinance. What does this regulation do to fight or stop gang crime? For example, how would a requirement to have a uniformed security officer have prevented the murder of Eddie Fernandez? Would customer registration or video surveillance have stopped his murder? Would a ban on profanity have done anything to stop this horrible crime?

I understand and agree with the desire of the City Council to implement regulations that protect public safety. However, the regulations that they wish to place on Cyber Cafes do nothing more than seek to put them out of business. The rationale used to create these rules could also be used to suggest that since bars and restaurants serve alcohol, and since alcohol may lead to violence and crime including drunk driving, that we should close bars and restaurants at 10PM during the week, midnight on the weekends, and of course, require uniformed security guards and video surveillance during all hours of operation. Oh yes, using the same logic, we must have all customers register at the front door. Given this comparison, I think we can all see how ridiculous the Cyber Café ordinance is and how little it does to solve the problems that caused the regulations in the first place.

The City Council needs to go back to the drawing board, and create an ordinance that helps address the problem of crime outside these small businesses while protecting the rights of Cyber Cafes to operate. The customers of Cyber Cafes have the right to patronize these legal businesses with out the interference of government and infringement of their constitutional rights to freedom of association and speech. While our government has the responsibility to provide for public safety, that responsibility cannot violate the rights guaranteed to all of us by our Constitution.

Common sense dictates that it is unreasonable to single out Cyber Cafes for the implementation of draconian regulations that are not imposed on businesses with much greater links to crime and violence.