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Parents of Statesboro bar beating victim seeking statewide remedy
Michaels Law would require insurance, training; ban teen bouncers, bartenders
R.Rudys CLOSED - Gatto Parents
Michael Gatto, left, and Katherine Gatto leave the Statesboro City Council chamber after speaking at a council hearing in September. Their son, Michael J. Gatto, died Aug. 28 from injuries sustained after he was beaten at Rude Rudy's. The Gattos envision statewide legislation that would be aimed at preventing such tragedies. - photo by AL HACKLE/file
The parents of Michael Joseph Gatto, the 18-year-old who died after a violent encounter with a 20-year-old bouncer at Rude Rudy’s bar in Statesboro on Aug. 28, want Georgia’s laws changed to make places that sell alcoholic beverages more responsible. “Michael’s Law,” as his father, Michael S. Gatto, and mother, Kathy Lee Gatto, envision it, would require that every Georgia business licensed to sell alcohol maintain insurance, including specialized insurance for problems resulting from the use of alcohol, as well as general liability insurance. The legislation would also raise the minimum age for bartenders and bouncers from 18 to 21 and require training for bartenders, bouncers, servers and the business owners who employ them.
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