Sharing the new reality with an out of town musician friend

I had a couple of beers last night with a dear friend who is a musician and who's parents are ACLU lawyers.  He just moved back here after 4 years of New York, so has missed most of the drama surrounding trying to have nighttime fun in San Francisco.  I told him of the ABC's campaign against all ages clubs here, the notorious party laptop confiscations,  the zero-tolerance policy on underground parties and gatherings, and the SFPD harassment clubs like the DNA Lounge are enduring on a daily basis.  He simply can't believe its happening.  He kept asking "Is this legal?  What laws are being broken?  Has someone contacted the ACLU?"

I am not a lawyer, so I can't say what is legal or not.  It all seems pretty shady, however.  I am a big fan of the rights guaranteed by our Constitution.  There's that bit  in the first amendment about the "right to free assembly" that seems to be getting squished at the private parties that are getting shut down.  The "unreasonable search and seizure" clause of the fourth amendment seems to be where laptop confiscations have gone awry.  Perhaps every party in San Francisco needs to post those two amendments boldly, both for the benefit of cops who might be thinking of ignoring those rights, and the patrons themselves, who need to know their rights when confronted by an angry policeman intent on intimidating them.  Know your rights.

So I have another out-of-town friend here this weekend.  Do I take her to Bootie, who are hosting the Hubba Hubba review tonight?  There's every possibility that what she will get is a police drama on the street instead of a dancing girls in the the club.  I can also walk her over to Slims and show her the incredibly depressing pitch in their window to raise money for their fight against the ABC.

I wonder if I, as a private citizen can get the ACLU in on what is happening here.  The club owners themselves are no doubt scared to death of doing such a thing, as once they win in court, they can guarantee law enforcement will be crawling over their activities with a microscope for as long as they are in the business. I will see what I can do.