Waiting period for club membership could be history

A rule requiring a three-day waiting period to join a private club that sells alcohol could soon be history in a bill going to Governor Bev Perdue’s desk.

The Senate gave final approval Monday night to a House bill eliminating the membership wait. Proponents said the bill would allow tourists and the military looking for a night out to drink at social or fraternal clubs.

The push for the change in law started last year after members of the USS North Carolina submarine and Marines told Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo bars here had used the waiting period to keep them out.