Cape Girardeau Mayor Harry Rediger and the city council tabled a proposed ordinance that would ban people under the age of 21 from entering restaurants and bars after 10 p.m that make more than 35 percent of revenue from alcohol sales.

The council conducted an online survey regarding the ordinance, and the ordinance was met with criticism among citizens of all ages. Of the 312 people who responded to the survey, 94 percent were above the age of 21 and 27 percent were business owners, restaurant owners or held a liquor license.

Sixty percent of those surveyed felt that Cape Girardeau's current ordinance did not need to be improved or adjusted and 12 percent felt that no regulation was needed at all. Six percent of those surveyed felt that restricting people under 21 from entering bars after 10 p.m. should be omitted from the ordinance.

Southeast Missouri State University psychology major Paul Scucchi said one issue is that the ordinance may cause more harm than good for small businesses. He believed the ordinance would cause an increase in the number of house parties. He said that if the council did consider bringing this ordinance to a council vote, it is intrusive to not let the people of Cape Girardeau vote on the issue. He feels those directly affected by the ordinance are 18-20 years old and are of voting age, so they deserve a say.

The ordinance was first proposed by Dr. Kenneth W. Dobbins, the president of Southeast Missouri State University, and the council approved a first reading of the ordinance on Oct. 15. After its first approval the council tweaked the law by excluding underage workers who are employed by affected establishments from the ban, but the council still had questions about how to gauge which businesses have 35 percent of revenue in alcohol sales.

Rediger said that during a Nov. 9 study session the council decided that because of public concern for the law, it was just going to better enforce the existing ordinance that prohibits the sale of alcohol to anyone under 21 years of age.

"We plan on very strongly increasing the number of checks on bars and the people entering them," Rediger said. "Cops will have a much greater presence in the downtown area, and there will be much more tickets for individuals and businesses that violate the ordinance."