NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Thousands of people have signed a petition to pass a proposed law, the "Riley Act" — named after Riley Strain who was found in the Cumberland River two weeks after being kicked out of a Broadway bar and then going missing.
The Riley Act would make it so that bar staff have to call cabs or a rideshare for people who are intoxicated and disoriented.
The petition now has more than 30,000 signatures and is getting close to its 35,000 goal.
Almost a dozen people posted videos on the petition voicing their support.
They believe Riley's death could have been prevented if he had a ride called for him to take him back to his hotel after he was kicked out of Luke Bryan's bar.
Deborah Borza started the petition.
"We were all young once and made choices such as over drinking or simply at the wrong place at the wrong time," she wrote. "It is a business owner's responsibility for safety not only at their establishment, but also for their customers to leave safely."
There are a lot of questions about how this law would work out logistically, like who would decide someone is too drunk and needs a ride called, what if the person refuses, and who is paying for it?
NewsChannel 5 has reached out to Borza and asked how she envisions this to work. This story will update when we learn more.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
