:eek: :eek2:

link (http://www.click2houston.com/travelgetaways/11087119/detail.html)

Social Dancing Banned In New York
Appeals Court Rules Ban Is Constitutional

Posted: 8:22 pm CST February 22, 2007

New York -- Should you find yourself in a bar in New York City, and the music playing makes you want to get up and dance, please resist the urge.

A state court on Thursday upheld the city's Prohibition-era law that bans social dancing in bars, restaurants and certain clubs.

Those who like to get up and boogie sued, arguing the law illegally infringes on their right of free expression. The city's Cabaret Law, which was enacted 80 years ago, bans social dancing in all but specially licensed venues.

The Gotham West Coast Swing Club and several people filed a lawsuit complaining that because the Cabaret Law barred them from dancing with other people, it illegally infringed on their right of free expression.

The appeals court disagreed, saying recreational dancing is not a form of expression protected by the federal or state constitutions.

Plaintiffs lawyer Norman Siegel said he was "very disappointed" by the decision and is considering an appeal.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Ah yes, the famous "caberet law."

As someone who frequents NYC bars, I can honestly say there is really no danger of this law ever being enforced: I would love to see a squad of police burst into my beloved Gaf because a few girls decided to bust a move to Lynard Skynard's "Sweet Home Alabama."

Now if we could outlaw Skynard in NYC bars, then we would be on to something...

;)

Everybody cut loose, Footloose, take off your Sunday shoes

"Only in New York!" ":rofl:" :rolleyes:

Oh, with over eight million people living in New York, that law isn't going to work out. lol

We talked about this in Civics yesterday. I don't think it's a good idea.

First they ban smoking, now dancing. Soon you won't be able to DRINK in a bar!! :confused:

Yeah, I dont see it happening. Since when did NYC turn into Footloose?

I think this is a prime example of the hypocracy of some of New York's thinking - they're giving a place that wants to do some harmless swing dancing a hard time, meanwhile the club scene over on the west side is in shambles: underage kids allowed to go wild, stabbings, sexual assault, and club owners who are continually allowed to open more of these death trap clubs in any vacant building they want.

First they ban smoking, now dancing. Soon you won't be able to DRINK in a bar!! :confused:

That was called prohibition, and that didn't work either...

You can't stop people from having a good time. That truth is timeless.

That was called prohibition, and that didn't work either...

You can't stop people from having a good time. That truth is timeless.
Prohibition didn't work back then, and it won't now. ESPECIALLY in NYC.

When I read this the first time I thought it was for New York the state, but it's actually only for the Big Apple.

OFF TOPIC: One pet peeve I have is that the city and state name are used interchangeably. (I mean, other places named after their states always use City--I always say Oklahoma City when talking about the capital and Oklahoma when I am talking about the state. FWIW, my state of Ohio has Ohio City south of Van Wert, but there's not that much there.)

One other confusing thing is from the GasBuddy family of gas price sites: NewYorkGasPrices.com is for the Big Apple, but NewYorkStateGasPrices.com is for the Empire State as a whole. I believe NewYorkGasPrices.com should be for the state, while NewYorkCityGasPrices.com (or even NYCGasPrices.com) should be the new name for NYC's site. At the same time WashingtonGasPrices.com is for the Evergreen State, but WashingtonDCGasPrices.com is for our nation's capital.