Before you toss that empty beer bottle at the corner office of Natchez City Hall, crack open another cold one — beer if you’d like or soft drink if you’d prefer — and let’s consider a few things.

Natchez Mayor Jake Middleton’s recent suggestion that city bars might be required to close at 2 a.m. isn’t a prudish attempt to end the party. He’s just looking at ways to clean up the city and resolve quality of life concerns for residents.

Both are admirable pursuits.

That Middleton is considering taking radical action to solve problems facing the city should be applauded not criticized.

The unfortunate fact is that a small number of bar patrons are ruining the fun for their fellow bar patrons and ruining lives of the residents who live nearby.

Trash and other waste — including some too vile to mention here for fear of ruining breakfast for many readers — are all too common outside some establishments.

While limiting hours won’t make the problems go away, at least it might curtail it a bit.

Some bar owners and patrons are already crying foul — and the issue has yet to be officially discussed.

Interestingly, though, the ones crying foul are the very ones who could make the underlying problems go away.

These problems aren’t new, yet they remain unsolved.

Although much of the debate centers on a few downtown bars, such a bedtime-for-bars ordinance would affect all establishments, including those less-frequented by tourists.

Attempting to legislate what’s “good” for a person is tricky.

Working toward what’s “good” for the city as a whole should be our overriding motivation.

Until the issue comes up for public discussion, let’s sober up, consider the facts and leave the bottles on the table.