Posted 2/13/2008 06:52:00 PM by Douglas

Smoking ban in Amarillo goes back to a plebiscite.

It'll be up to voters to decide whether smokers will butt out of Amarillo's public places.

City commissioners approved putting a proposed smoking ban on a May 10 ballot after listening to opposing sides for almost two hours Tuesday.

Commissioners could have enacted an ordinance instituting the ban that severely restricts smoking in places the general public can go or where there are employees.

This is a democracy, so I can't complain if the people choose to ban smoking, but the problem I have with that is that the people that vote aren't the ones that want to go to a bar and have a smoke. But I digress. Here's the money shot:

"It's a very serious health problem ... It's not serious for the restaurant goer, it is (for) the employee," said Dr. Rush Pierce. "Workers don't have a choice where they work."

What?!? Is Amarillo, Texas, Soviet Russia? Workers don't have a choice where they work? What about those workers that want to make money off of people that choose to go to bar and smoke? What about smokers that want to smoke while they work and make money off smokers? Ok, it gets even dumber:

Sharon Stones, a registered nurse for more than 30 years, said it is a health issue that impacts children.

Say, here's an idea: Leave your kids at home when you go hang out in the smoky bar? Oh right, it's your god given right.

After a recent smoking ban, more families have been bringing children to pubs, and a spokesman for the chain was quoted by the BBC as saying, "Once the children have had their meal, we can't see a reason why they should still be in the pub."

In New York, too, the smoking ban has altered the bar's image. No longer a den of adult sin, the local tavern is seen as an attractive option for afternoon gatherings among parents. (Neither New York state nor city law forbids minors in bars, although state regulations say children younger than 16 must be accompanied by an adult, a State Liquor Authority spokesman said.)

If there's ever been a reason to allow smoking in a bar, it's this: So that there's at least one last bastion you can go and get away from a bunch of screaming kids and their whining fucking parents.