Washington City Paper details battle over all-ages ban in D.C.

The Washington City Paper has posted a detailed look at the many figures and organizations involved in the battle over a proposed ban that would exclude all those under drinking age from clubs in Washington D.C.

The article discusses DC Council Member Jim Graham, who famously hosted an roundtable which saw noted DC music icon Ian MacKaye deliver a passionate defense of all ages club. Graham, a former alcoholic, is described as:

[rushing] to the cameras immediately following a problem or an incident at an establishment, before the facts are even known, and announces to the community: 'I want this place shut down.'

It also talks to Dante Ferrando, owner of the famous Black Cat club who notes:

Music should be accessible to people of all ages. The reality of the live music business is that alcohol, to some degree, subsidizes the music.

Jean Homza, of the also notable 9:30 club, added:

There will never be another small entrepreneur that comes in and says I want to do an all-ages venue."

Club owners have pooled their resources and hired a full-time lobbyist in the hopes of fighting a regulatory apparatus that they feel has become increasingly adept at punishing club owners.