Serving The Community Through Bulletproof Glass

Lawmakers in Philadelphia have recently voted, 14-3, to pass Bill 170963 which seeks to crackdown on “Stop-N-Go” shops (also known as “beer delis”) by seeking to create new restaurant licenses for business establishments with fewer than 30 seats. Because 29 seats just doesn't cut it.

The new changes are looking to limit what they can sell and what sort of business they can do, among other changes including what looks like an attempt to ban the use of bulletproof glass in the city for some businesses.

The original sponsor of the bill, city councilwoman Cindy Bass, has previously suggested that having people reach through or communicate through bulletproof glass promotes indignity.

Those in favor of the bill think that it's not really fair, that it's dehumanizing to have to get someone to carry out an exchange if they have to do so through bulletproof glass. They also note that there are other businesses in the area who don't have to resort to using bulletproof glass to do business.

However, many store owners have fired back against the proposed changes and alleged that using bulletproof glass at their business has helped to save their life and protect them in the workplace. Some of them can remember back to specific instances where they were threatened and told that something violent would have happened to them if the glass wasn't in place to protect them.

As well, no one is forcing people to go into those businesses and seek out an exchange. In the mind of some of the business owners then, if someone doesn't like dealing with the bulletproof glass then they always do have the freedom and the option available to them to go elsewhere.

Some critics of the changes have pointed out that this sort of restriction on bulletproof glass appears to violate the Pennsylvania Bill of Rights which ensures the right of the people to defend their life, liberty, and property.

As far as crime goes in Philadelphia, they are allegedly above the national average and their murder rate this year is allegedly up roughly 20 percent; though there is a downward crime trend that's been reported over the past few years. At the moment, they are currently seeing lower crime rates than they have seen in decades.

When it comes to the murder rate seeing an uptick, police have said that one of the biggest motives behind that increase in the murder rate is arguments between people.

So there is no surprise that many fear the removal of the bulletproof glass in that it might establish more of an unsafe working environment for them. Opening them up for the potential to be seriously physically injured while trying to serve those in their community.

The Philadelphia city council's Public Health and Human Services Committee are the ones who are responsible for passing the new bill. And the hope is that the new changes are going to clean up the corners where these beer deli's are located. But is requiring new licenses and removing bulletproof glass really going to resolve addiction and loitering issues in the community?

For right now, the changes are going to be left up to the Department of Licenses and Inspection and they could decide on the bulletproof glass (whether or not to outright ban it etc) anytime between now and January 2021.

Pics:
Pixabay
via reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1haqr3/bullet_proof_glass_is_standard_at_burger_king_in/
via WDRB.com
Max Marin via Philly Weekly /philadelphiaweekly.com/news/booze-blacks-bulletproof-glass-did-city-council-botch-approach-to/article_b111c7c8-e501-11e7-a170-ff8d2ea6a42c.html

Sources:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/12/07/outrage-as-philly-pushes-through-ban-on-bulletproof-glass-in-crime-plagued-neighborhood-shops.html
https://www.metro.us/news/local-news/philadelphia/bulletproof-glass-small-philly-stores-debated-council
http://reason.com/blog/2017/12/15/philly-votes-to-regulate-bulletproof-gla
https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/crime/item/27600-philadelphia-city-council-takes-a-shot-at-small-stores-bulletproof-glass
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20170112_Police__Philly_crime_at_lowest_level_in_decades.html
http://reason.com/volokh/2017/12/20/right-to-install-bulletproof-glass
https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Philadelphia-Murder-Rates-Up-20-Percent-419292894.html
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/12/01/philadelphia-business-owners-cry-foul-at-bill-targeting-bulletproof-glass.html
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/city-council-approves-bill-that-could-force-businesses-to-remove-bulletproof-glass/vp-BBGRdco