No one shows up for public curfew hearing

So you would think that teens and their parents would have some pretty strong opinions about the city's proposed 10 p.m. juvenile curfew, right? If City Council invited everyone who wanted to sound off on the issue down to City Hall, you'd think teens would flood the place, waving placards written on the back of Ashlee Simpson posters and demanding to be able to keep their two hours of nightly freedom, wouldn't you?

Well, apparently you'd be wrong: Yesterday, council held a public hearing on the issue, and no one — not a single concerned parent or angry teen — showed up. Which left councilmembers free to discuss the proposal without any public input.

In case you've missed it, the idea is to put in place a 10 p.m. curfew for Houston kids under age 17 (11 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and the days before school holidays). The existing midnight curfew applies to everyone under 18; a current 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daytime curfew during school days would remain in effect. At least five of 15 councilmembers indicated they would vote against the stricter curfew if it came up for a vote today, including aureate-headed Councilwoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs: "I do have some concerns about what might happen if innocent young people are caught up in the juvenile justice system and then become part of that system without committing a real crime other than being out too late." (Wouldn't the same thing be happening under the current midnight curfew?) Other opponents asked whether a tighter curfew would mean the city was stepping in where parents should be taking responsibility.

Mayor Bill White urged members not to make up their minds without public feedback and possible amendments to the proposal, adding that he doesn't want police officers to be overburdened with curfew enforcement. A second (and final) public hearing on the proposed change is set for July 26.