After a car-egging incident late at night that led to a teenager being shot and killed, the city of Indianapolis is vowing to tighten enforcement of its teen curfew law. The law isn't all that tough to begin with -- it has exceptions for parental permission, going to or from work or school-related events, "exercising First Amendment rights." All those loopholes were put in because the city was named as co-defendant one of those times when the Indiana Civil Liberties Union sued to end the state teen curfew. I haven't kept up on the issue lately, but I think the state finally gave up on being able to pass a law that met constitutional muster. Since Fort Wayne and Allen County always used the state law when it wanted to get kids off the streets, the lack of a state law pretty much leaves us without a teen curfew.
Nothing wrong with that. That's one of those issues that cry out for home rule. Let Fort Wayne and Wabash and Indianapolis debate, through their city councils and citizens interacting, how much control to put on teens' nighttime wanderings, and pass ordinances accordingly. At least until the ICLU sues them.
