Lens Of Liberty

New York is famous as the “city that never sleeps,” but be careful what you do afterhours. There are 26,000 bars and restaurants in New York City, but if you enjoylive music, singing, or dancing, you could be breaking the law. That’s because aProhibition-era law still forbids three or more people from dancing, anyplacewhere there is “musical entertainment.” Any exceptions require an expensive city-issued license that very few businesses actually have. Instead of looking throughthe lens of liberty, city officials still go to court to defend that old “cabaret law.”In one recent case, they argued that “there is no protected First Amendment rightof expression to engage in recreational dancing.” We should tell our officials theyhave no right to regulate us, if we want to dance the night away.