There is a new push to make nightclubs in Manhattan safer. The move comes after several high profile murders, including Immette St. Guillen's at a club in Soho and this week's fatal shooting at a club in Chelsea. In both cases, bouncers at the club are accused of the crime.
"You have these bouncers put into authority positions in these clubs where they have power over people. It's clear that when that power is unchecked and unregulated, terrible things can happen," says City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.
Quinn instructed her staff after the Immette St. Guillen tragedy to find anyway to bring the largely state-regulated realm of nightclubs under city control. St. Guillen was allegedly raped and murdered by bouncer Darryl Littlejohn after he worked last call at The Falls bar in Soho.
A simple background check would have revealed the ex-con was violating probation by working around a bar.
"We're going to require that bars check to see whether their bouncer's have licenses to carry guns and check the bouncers to see if they're going to carry guns with their own licenses," says Quinn. "If they fail to do either of those things, we're going to shut them down."
Quinn's "Bouncer Bill", which is still being drafted, will work through the city's nuisance abatements laws. The legislation seeks drug testing, background checks, gun permits, and weapons inspections for anyone employed as security personnel around a club or bar.
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