I am writing in response to your guest editorial about the beach alcohol ban “doing its job.” The author begins by saying that he’s tired of the “whiners” who say that “a small minority of beachgoers cause the problem and that existing laws are sufficient.” A few paragraphs later he acknowledges that this is, in fact, true. This is a disturbing trend in our society; those who seek to restrict our civil liberties don’t want to discuss the facts. Unfortunately, this is true all the way from illegal wiretaps at the federal level to the beach alcohol ban. The fact that a small minority is causing problem, and that we already have laws in place, is exactly what should be discussed, along with the reasons why our police force is not able to enforce the law. We might actually solve the problem if it was faced “head on” in this manner. To say that the police do not have the resources to enforce existing laws, and then say that the answer is more laws, is simply illogical. The same police presence is necessary whether enforcing old or new laws. That the new law makes it easier for enforcement does not alter the fact that the police still need to be on the beach to do it. I tend to agree with the founding fathers, who intentionally made the job of the police difficult, to protect our civil liberties. As a result of the alcohol ban, having a liquid on the beach is now probable cause to be interrogated by the police. If that is the ban “doing its job” then I guess I have to agree. I, however, feel that we all owe the “whiners” a debt of gratitude for bringing the facts into the debate. The author continues by saying that the ban is good because most other beaches ban alcohol, so we should too. There are probably lots of things that other cities do that we don’t; however, I can’t see that as a reason for adopting new laws. My last point is that it is incredibly naïve to believe that simply creating a new law will solve this problem. The ban simply moves the problem somewhere else. I live in the last block of Cape May Avenue in Ocean Beach. In the first month after the ban, the homeless and hardcore drinkers simply moved onto the sidewalk. They have now moved somewhere else. However, we have noticed a marked increase in house parties and late-night gatherings of people on the streetcorners. The people who used to leave the bars and have their last few beers on the beach now walk down the street. Of course, this is also against the law, but the police are patrolling the beach. I recently had my catalytic converter stolen from my car parked in front of my house; personally, I would rather have our limited police resources used to prevent that kind of activity. Police regularly patrolling our streets, rather than the beach, would have a much greater positive impact on our community.