Councilmen repeal convenience store security ordinance

JACKSON — The Jackson City Council has reversed course on a law that a majority now agrees is too burdensome on the 24-hour convenience stores it sought to protect.

By a 4-0 vote, council members voted yesterday to repeal the law, which required the stores to have a security guard on duty from midnight to 5 a.m. Another provision required that storeowners file a security plan with the city.

The Clarion-Ledger reports the law was proposed by former Councilman Kenneth Stokes and went into effect last fall in response to a slew of shootings at convenience stores.

But business owners and trade groups complained the law was too costly.