Lots of turnout for yesterday’s Winston-Salem City Council committee meeting discussing the proposed safety ordinance:
A group of protesters, some sealing their mouths with black tape, stood on the building’s steps and held cardboard signs. One read: “A gag order on Winston-Salem culture.”
Another read: “Overkill is not the solution.”
There were so many protesters that some had to stay outside while the meeting took place inside.
“I think it’s going a step too far,” said Dan Pasker, 32, who likes to go to the Garage and the Silver Moon Saloon in the Arts District.
Bar owners raised a serious concern, especially for a city desperately trying to keep its nightlife going:
Business owners and promoters said they feared that the ordinance could be used as a hammer to unfairly quash businesses.
And they warned that investors would go to other cities with less restrictive rules.
“The ordinance will have a deeply chilling effect on investors,” Guy Williams said.
