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Jan
25
City Council passes half-assed smoking ban
January 25, 2008 |
Yesterday the City Council passed a smoking ban in what seems to be an attempt to sabotage an initiative petition that will be on the April ballot. That citizens’ initiative would ban smoking in virtually all bars and restaurants. Casino gambling floors would be exempt until Riverside and NKC ban smoking in their casinos.
“We are jumping ahead of the will of the voters.”
-Jan Marcason, 4th District City Councilmember.
The City Council’s version only bans smoking in restaurants, not bars. Restaurants that also serve alcohol can choose to allow smoking after 9:00 p.m. if they limit entrance to people 21 and over. The legal smoking age in Missouri is 18, so what is the point of banning 18-20 year-old from places with smoking?
Come April we will see which smoking ordinance the voters prefer. City Council members who voted against the half-assed smoking ban were Bill Skaggs, Cathy Jolly, Beth Gottstein, and Jan Marcason.
Comments
6 Comments so far
I think this is pretty rotten of the Council. The point of the smoking ban is twofold: 1) protecting the health of patrons and 2) protecting the health of the employees. The second is the stronger reasoning by FAR, as customers can choose non-smoking restaurants or sections, and the small amount of secondhand smoke from those is unlikely to do harm. However, this toothless proposal completely misses this second point! I can’t vote for non-smoking on the Kansas City ballot, but I can and will vote with my dollars for smoke-free establishments - I hope the full-fledged initiative passes in April.
Well, it’s got my vote. I wish I could vote my council members out, but I live in the 4th district. Gottstein and Marcason are on the right side of this issue.
I live in Kansas But Jan Marcason would of lost my vote. Lets do what was promise from the get go
This City Council has really ticked me off on there undermining of this petition. Especially Ed Ford. I live in his district and will work as hard as I can to make sure he is not re-elected. Once again it is all about his agenda and not giving the citizens a chance to vote on this ban without his meddling is grossly unfair. I would not care who runs against him Ed Ford would not get my vote.
As citizens, we need to protect our health against second hand smoke and the ONLY way to do that is a FULL smoking ban, in restaraunts and bars. Exempting places will make the playing field un-even for bars and restaraunts. It’s time Kansas City does right by their citizens health and follow the lead of other STATES, NATIONS and CITIES and completly ban smoking!!
Comment that was made at the City Council meeting sums it up. A restaurant owner opposing the ban called his establishment a private business not a public place. He owns it as a private citizen and the public only frequents his establishment. Putting the smoking ban including private businesses on the ballot is wrong any way you justify it. The public has no right to vote on what a private citizen does with his private property. It’s been said that the patron’s have a choice whether or not to enter but employees do not - my question is why don’t they. Are they court appointed employees? I personally work in construction and am exposed to a variety of contaminates. That is my choice. Just as their choice is to work where people may smoke. The smoking ban movement in my opinion has long since overstepped reasonable boundries.