California Assemblywoman Declares War on Youth Culture

As any law enforcement officer will tell you, they're notorious hotbeds of underage drug and alcohol abuse – indeed, the use of intoxicating substances is part of its whole appeal anymore. And beyond the problem of substance abuse and DUIs, there's the added problems of fights – even riots – breaking out, with nearly every week bringing a new tale of someone suffering a life-threatening or even fatal injury at a performance.

I'm referring, of course, to football. Strangely, though, despite their oft-stated concerns about public safety – and the children, always the children – no politicians are talking about banning that known public hazard.

Elected officials are, however, discussing a ban on electronic music concerts, or raves, which – coincidentally, I'm sure – differ from football in that they generally don't generate massive corporate (and college) profits that can be used to bolster their support and ability to extract taxpayer dollars from the political establishment.

But there's always something and someone to demonize, and elected officials must fulfill their innate desire to demagogue in some fashion or another, so we're left with things like AB 74, the “Anti-Raves Act of 2011.” Appealing to the angry and electorally reliable get-off-my-lawn crowd, the bill was introduced December 21 by San Francisco Democrat Fiona Ma, Speaker pro Tempore of the California State Assembly.

"Raves foster an environment that threatens the health and safety of our youth," Ma said in a press release. "The introduction of AB 74 is the first step toward eliminating these dangerous events.” The bill would make it a criminal offense to host any “public event at night that includes prerecorded music and lasts more than three and one-half hours.”

On the plus side, as written the bill would appear to ban Britney Spears from playing in the state, one reason Ma said on Monday that she's going to hold off on pushing the bill until she meets with representatives of the entertainment industry.

But her intent to ban electronic music concerts on public grounds remains, lip service to "legitimate rights" aside.

To justify such an extreme measure, Ma cites, or rather exploits, the death of a 15-year-old girl who was reportedly on ecstacy at last summer's Electric Daisy Carnival in Los Angeles, adding that “an estimated 120 people were sent to the hospital." Based on that, she argues raves “have displayed a pattern of fostering youth drug abuse.”

Except? The concert in question was attended by more than 185,000 people – that's a lot – meaning 99.99 percent of attendees did not get so sick on drugs or alcohol that they required a trip to the ER. Would that the same could be said of a Raiders game.

Not to pick on football, though. After all, over the last decade about a half-dozen people have been killed at baseball games in California. And in San Diego alone, “police arrest hundreds of fans at Qualcomm Stadium and Petco Park every year,” for everything from public drunkenness to stabbings.

But then, Ma doesn't seem terribly interested in taking a rational look at threats to public safety and carefully, studiously allocating resources accordingly. As she herself admits, her proposal “is not intended to impact traditional music concerts and sporting events.” Rather, her bill's all about vilifying a music and culture she doesn't understand, just like grandstanding politicians before her tried to stamp out everything from rock music to rap.

“I believe that this bill is flat out ridiculous to say the least,” says Jesse Alonzo, a DJ and producer in Los Angeles who fears the impact the legislation will have on the community he loves. When he learned about the proposal, he decided to do something about it, organizing opposition to the proposal and using Change.org to do it. In less than a week, more than 5,000 people have joined him in calling on the California legislature to reject AB 74.

“I started the petition not a second after I read the draft for the bill,” Alonzo tells Change.org, saying he's been overwhelmed by the response. “No one should have the ability to put rules on how long you can play 'pre-recorded music,' or any kind of music for that matter.

“This bill is targeting a certain genre of music, and scene of individuals that are just like you and I, working class citizens.”

And it's worth pointing out: if enacted, Ma's proposal would not achieve her stated goal of improving public safety.

“We all know that parties aren't going to stop just because they're illegal,” says the group DanceSafe, which is dedicated to promoting “health and safety within the rave and nightclub community.”

“This is a scene that was built on the renegade, the break-in warehouse party,” the group notes. “It is a GOOD THING when they are above-board, where we can attend to emergencies that happen, where the city and county have a say in how security is run and emergency services are provided.”

But Ma's bill would make that close to impossible. And it's not as if teenagers will all of a sudden stop listening to electronic music or engaging in risky behavior because some politicians say they should. They'll just do it somewhere else, just as college sophomores aren't exactly known for their sobriety despite not being old enough to legally drink.

For now, Ma says she's putting her bill on a temporary hold as she meets with entertainment industry officials. But she also needs to hear from folks who are concerned about her proposal's impact on the electronic music scene, not just on Britney Spears' freedom to lip sync.

Urge California politicians to reject AB 74 and defend their constituents' right to dance.

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Photo Credit: Paul S.