Starting today, bar owners in Michigan will turn away politicians in protest of the statewide smoking ban. Photo: Protect Private Property Rights in Michigan
Don’t expect your local legislator to stop by the bar anytime soon. Starting today, about 500 bars and restaurants across Michigan will display signs telling politicians they are no longer welcome.
It’s another jab in the fight over indoor air pollution and private property rights that was spurred by the Michigan smoking ban that took effect last May. Protect Private Property Rights in Michigan, a non-profit organization made of people in the hospitality industry, is organizing the campaign to convince legislators to repeal the law.
“I’ve lost two employees, I don’t pay near the sales tax, I don’t buy nearly as much beer as I was buying,” said Boyd Cottrell, owner of Sporty O’Tool’s bar in Warren, Mich. “They made a big mistake.”
Cottrell said his business has been cut at least 40 percent since the ban. Much of it has been lost to casinos that don’t have to follow the legislation, he said.
This “hypocrisy,” as the protest group’s executive director Stephen Mace calls it, is reflected in the campaign to keep legislators out of bars. Like the smoking ban, the beginning date of the campaign was announced two weeks before it became effective “so lawmakers could get used to it.” It also only affects lower-ranking politicians, not the governor or lieutenant governor as a means of “protecting the big guys,” like the casinos that are exempt from the legislation.
“These bars and taverns are private property, politicians are not a protected class,” Mace said.
Although Cottrell put up his sign this morning to support the cause, he’s not convinced the protest will be effective.
“How can I ban a politician? I can barely tell you what (Michigan Gov. Rick) Snyder looks like,” Cottrell said.
Cottrell has been fighting to repeal the legislation on his own. He’s taken his case through the district court and plans to get a court date with the Michigan Court of Appeals within the next six weeks.
“If I don’t, I’m going to lose the business anyway,” Cottrell said. “I might as well try to do what I can.”
In addition to seeing fewer people at the bar, Cottrell said he’s had many incidents of people going outside to smoke a cigarette and never coming back in to pay their tabs.
But the legislation appears to have strong support. Angela Minicuci, public information officer for the Michigan Department of Community Health, said more than 70 percent of residents support the law according to a public opinion survey.
“Overall, the smoke-free air law has been well received,” Minicuci said in an email. “It protects the health of Michigan residents and visitors and will save lives.”
Other Great Lakes states, like New York, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota, have similar smoking regulations.
State Sen. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, is sponsoring a bill in the Michigan Senate that offers a compromise.
“It would allow bars to have a room in the back somewhere where there would be no service; no waiter or waitress would walk into the room,” Jones said. “People could step in, smoke briefly and then come back out into the area, thus preventing them from having to go outside.”
Jones said the bill is not a response to the protest campaign, and he doesn’t expect it to affect him personally.
Cottrell doesn’t support that legislation and prefers that the whole smoking legislation be repealed, or that casinos be included. He said he wouldn’t build a room for smokers because so many of his customers would use it that he would have to build another bar.
“It’s plain old crazy,” Cottrell said. “Why stop people from smoking when it’s legal to do?”