Mississippi Town Repeals Security Guard Ordinance

The Jackson City Council unanimously agreed that the law was too burdensome on convenience stores.

February 15, 2012

JACKSON, Miss. - On Monday, the Jackson City Council in a 4-0 vote repealed an ordinance that would have made 24-hour convenience stores to have a security guard on the premises from 12 a.m. to 5 a.m., the Clarion-Ledger reports. The mandate went into effect in September, but was not enforced.

Convenience store operators strongly objected to the law, which included a provision that owners show the city a formal security plan.

"These are some requirements that really no one was able to meet," said Councilman Quentin Whitwell, the repeal€™s sponsor. "It's just better off if we don't have this ordinance in place."

Former Councilman Kenneth Stokes pushed for the ordinance after several shootings happened at convenience stores, but convenience store owners and the Mississippi Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Stores Association pointed out the law would cost businesses too much. The association estimated that each store would shell out $23,000 annually to pay for a security guard.

"We encourage them if they feel they need somebody to go ahead and have security," said Council President Frank Bluntson. "But (let's) not have the city mandate that they hire somebody."

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