Mall curfew: is it fair? - Mall of America, Bloomington, MN will impose a controversial curfew on unescorted youth 15 years old and under after 6 p.m

Current Events, Sept 30, 1996

For most teens the mall is not only a place to shop, but a place to meet up with friends, get something to eat, play video games, or just "hangout." But starting next week, kids who frequent the Mall of America, the world's largest mall, in Bloomington, Minnesota, will have to be escorted by an adult after 6 p.m. on weekend nights.

Security guards stationed at each of the mall's 24 entrances will make sure no one under 16 is admitted without a parent or an escort older than 21. Inside the mall, the chaperones will have to accompany young shoppers.

Safety First

Although mall officials enacted the rule to strengthen mall security, the new policy angers many people, especially teens. Teens complain that they have few places to go and don't want their parents to tag along on weekends. Civil libertarians say the policy violates teens' First Amendment right to assemble peacefully.

Mall officials implemented the curfew policy after store owners and mall customers complained that unsupervised youths were too disruptive and intimidated customers. On wintry weekend nights, more than 2,500 kids may congregate at the mall, sometimes roaming in packs of up to 50, officials say.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) opposes the mall curfew. "It infringes on the rights of young people," says attorney Chris Hansen. According to Hansen, parents, not the mall, have the right to tell kids where they can go--and when.

First Amendment guarantees, such as freedom of speech and the right to peacefully assemble, apply only to public property, not to private property, such as shopping malls. However, many states believe that malls now occupy the place that downtown used to and might be considered public places.

Malls around the country will be watching to see whether the Man of America's curfew is effective. What do you think? Should other malls follow suit?