The Marietta City Council Wednesday will take up the issue of whether people under 21 can go to bars and nightclubs to dance but not drink. Police are worried about foam parties that they say draw children as young as 13 into a world of sexually charged dancing and drinking.
Picture a nightclub where the music is loud, the lights are flashing. Foam pours from machines mounted on the ceiling and females are encouraged to wear as little as possible.
This is a nightclub foam party where you don’t need ID to get in, where you can find kids as young as 13-years old. That is what worries Marietta Police.
“A lot of parents are misinformed about the true nature of these foam parties,” said Marietta Police Officer Dave Baldwin.
Police believe they are dangerous because they mix underage kids with booze and sex – and sometimes violence.
Several times over recent months, there has been gunfire at foam parties in Marietta, Baldwin said. That is why police want the city council to ban anyone under 21 from attending a nightclub.
Some council members are opposed to the idea. While they agree that banning children under 18 from nightclubs and bars might be worth consideration, they oppose banning anyone older than 18.
Law officers disagree with that thinking, saying a lot of the trouble they encounter at foam parties staged in nightclubs and bars comes precisely from those who are 18 to 21.