I am an employee of the Isle of Capri Casino and would like  to comment of the smoking ban. 1st of all the comment made by Pam Sullivan also an employee of the Isle of Capri stated that tests show that she smokes due to working in a smoking enviroment, she failed to mention that she was also a very heavy smoker up until maybe 18 months ago and that she should be able to work in a safe and healthy environment, well than i suggest that maybe she should consider finding a job else where. It was her CHOICE to work in a casino and she has since they have started gaming. So many jobs will be lost if this goes into effect and the State will lose alot of revenue. The smaller casinos in Black Hawk and Centeral City that have managed to stay open since the beginning might very well have to close due to this ban.Pam is a tipped employee as so am I only in a different department and if she feels that out tips wont be effected by this ignorant ban she is wrong but then again she isnt a single parent so I guess its not a big deal but alot of her fellow blackjack dealers are. By the way I am a smoker but even if I was'nt I would not vote for it and thats because it all comesdown to it being my CHOICE to work at a casino and that it is a smoking enviroment.
Thank you for your time.

Why do you not have the voting records of the representatives and senators on the ban and
related legislation? They should be receiving a deluge of letters and emails.

The argument that smoking is a right is pure stupidity. Smokers have the freedom to smoke.
There exists no right! Prior to the implementation of the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act of 2006,
nonsmokers had a choice concerning whether or not to frequent smoking establishments. Now the
table has turned; smokers now have the choice on whether or not to frequent nonsmoking
establishments. We all know that secondhand smoke is unhealthy to some degree. No thinking
person would disagree with that. Putting that argument aside momentarily, roughly 23% of
Colorado residents smoke. This is clearly the minority of the population. Given this statistic and
my previous analogy regarding a choice to frequent smoking/nonsmoking establishments, one can
logically derive the folowing question: WHY IN THE WORLD SHOULD WE PUT UP WITH A HEALTH
RISK TO APPEASE A MINORITY OF THE STATE POPULATION?! I applaud the actions of our state
legislature. These bar owners need to pull up the! ir bootstraps and accept the new business
challenge by making their establishments attractive and as inconvenient as possible to smokers.

hello, i m writing you from austria, europe. please make well known around you, that 3 anti-ban
movements were born in austria last week.  they want to impose smoking bans in bbars in
restaurnats and we are all fightting  www.raucherbewegung.eu www.rauchfreiheit.at
www.raucherzone.org  than you. cu christine

I just wanted to tell you all That I completely support what you are doing! It does my heart good
to see someone standing up for our rights. Keep it up!

They're trying to get a similar ban here in wisconsin.I've written letters to my state reps.
using the OSHA example among others. I've also asked them to prosecute the four tobacco
companies for conspiracy toraise prices and control market share as outlined in the 1998
Master SettlementAgreement.(http://caag.state.us/tobacco/pdf/1msa.pdf).The states and
the tobaccocompanies have stolen money from us for too long.It's time to hold them
responsable for their crimes

Keep up the good work!

Thank you guys for standing up for our freedom.

Ohio is watching what you are going through and many of us are behind you all the
way. Don't give up. We weekly download articles about your protest and are cheering
you on!

Mike, If bars follow the guidelines set by us, we will pay their fines.
How is civil disobedience making it worse for bar owners? We, and
many other organizations, have challenged it in court and lost. For
your reference, any law passed by the legislative branch can beillegal.
There is a great misunderstanding about this country; America is not
a true democracy. America is a democratic republic. There is a big
difference. In a true democracy, the majority rules. For example, if
the majority of Americans voted to legalize murder, then it would be
legal. In a democratic republic, the people are protected by a constitution,
a constitution that gives us unalienable rights. The Colorado Clean Air
Indoor Act robs us of certain unalienable rights. That is how this smoking
ban is illegal.

Hey folks, this so-called "civil disobedience protest" is not
the right way to fight the Colorado Clean Air Act of 2006 (notice I did not
refer to it as a smoking ban).  You are simply making matters worse for
bar owners.  If you really want to challenge this thing, hire a good lawyer
and challenge it in the court system.  Ive read in the paper, and heard on
the news that you all refer to the act as an illegal law.  My question is:
how in the world can a law passed by our state legislature be illegal? 
Thats absurd!

Dear Allen,

You may be way ahead of me, but I found a message on the American Lung Assoc.
website urging people to write in supporting these bills.  Of course, I wrote my
representative and senators asking them to NOT support these bills.  Thought you
could pass this around to others if you didn't know about it.

Linda Jenkins
Champaign, IL

RE:  The Kennedy-Cornyn (S.625) /Waxman-Davis (H.R.1108) legislation

I'm writing today to urge you NOT to support legislation introduced by Senators
Edward M. Kennedy, John Cornyn and Representatives Henry A. Waxman and Tom Davis
that would give the FDA control over tobacco products.

I believe minors should rely on their parents, and that it is the parents
responsibility to teach the minors to make good life choices.  Passage of these
bills would constitute nannyism.  We do not want nor need the government
becoming our nursemaid.


Please see original letter at http://lungaction.org/campaign/FDA_07

Congratulations!!!!  It's about time someone showed the courage to fight back!

In Virginia, we have a bill just passed that will ban smoking in restaurants and bars unless a "smoking permitted" sign is posted.  The Governor has threatened to amend the bill so it becomes an outright ban.

What you courageous people in Colorado do may help us in Virginia if we have to fight a ban.

I hope your courage is contagious and spreads to other states!

Although I am not a smoker, I feel that it was very unconstitutinal to tell business owners (most in paticular Bar-owners) how to run their business. I come from Pueblo where I believe the first ban was passed, and when they passed it then, it was bad, and even now it is still bad. I knew of a landlord who could not smoke in his own house because he used his house as his office. That not only made the owner of properties mad, but me as well, because it is his own house, and he could not smoke in it. Just before I moved to montrose (for schooling purposes) Montrose had plenty of places that were set up or sealed off for ventalation purposes for smokers, which did not bother non-smokers. Now that the law has been passed, these "Smoke fans" and "Ventalated areas" are just waste of space and money, because there is no use of them. These costed lots of money to install. Going back to the Pueblo Issue the council passed it "...[F]or the health of the employees". I have known many bar-owners that do not smoke, and they have not been effected by, as the health department calls it, "second hand smoke" plus plenty of bartenders or waitresses that serve in bars tend to be smokers themselves. Colorado should never have passed the ban, and I think it should be repealed. Another thing I forgot to mention is the fact that when Pueblo council passed the ban, there was an attempt to recall the ban, but it did not pass, because many people did not know about the special election (since it was given on some day that was not even close to an election day) plus many of the people that were registered voters could not vote because they were living in the county, and only people in the city could vote, so the bar owners that lived in the countycould not repeal their right to speak up to the council.

I work in a bar and I love the fact no one smokes no more. The
business really isn't that much less, Do people have heaters on their front
porches to go outside and smoke? Why must we cater to them to do that? It is so
nice not to clean ashtrays and smell that stuff then go home and my car smells
like it, my clothes, fingernails, hair, everything. It is so stinky. Please
don't let it come back. When there was smoking I was thinking of finding another
job as it was really getting to my lungs. I couldn't talk for days, my throat
would hurt, What about us non smokers health. Everywhere we go someone is
blowing it in our faces. Whether we work in a bar, restaurant or whatever. What
about US!!! watevrmysticl@hotmail.com

I'd like to know if you all could point me in the right direction to
actively protest the smoking ban as a private citizen.  My rights are being
violated, I've written letters to every congressman, mayor and the governor of
Colorado and feel there's more that needs to be done.  Can you help with names,
phone numbers, whatever of a group or attorney actively protesting the smoking
ban?  Is there a civil action lawsuit being pursued by individuals that aren't
bar owners, etc.?

If you're not aware of this Florida group, here is their URL.  Lots of
good information by state.

http://floridarights.tripod.com/

I am from Illinois, a state that is in the process of passing a bill to ban
smoking.  Do you know of a group here?  Thought also you might be interested in
an article from my hometown concerning city council members election.  Anti
smoking coalition got nasty.

http://www.news-gazette.com/ngsearch/index.cfm?&page=displyStory.cfm&yearfolder=the07news&file=021707%5Fngstory%5F73344%2Etxt&search=feb%2017&theorder=asaphrase

Great idea!
But GET A CLUE!!!
14th Amendment arguments against smoking bans have LOST in other States.

Businessmen here in New Jersey sued the State in District Court over 'equal
protection' because the Casinos of Atlantic City had an exemption to the ban.
(Small wonder. The State Legislature's retirement fund is heavily invested in AC
stocks!)
Nevada small businessmen also VERY recently lost on 'unequal' enforcement
charges, in a similar scenario.

HERE is an IDEA that  Has NOT Been TESTED!
To whit: The Constitutionally Guaranteed Right to
Freedom of Assembly!

These Bans are VERY much like the old "Jim Crow" Laws of the South.  Which laws
are now illegal - as you WELL know!

Since court after court in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts etc. has DENIED
business plaintiffs on the 'equal protection' argument* -  why not try AN
ARGUMENT that might WORK!
* Judges said that States have the right to make "health" laws.

To the best of my knowledge, no one YET has challenged a Ban with the
'Abridgement of Free Assembly' argument.
Obviously, if your patrons' rights to "Assembly" are abridged, your businesses
will suffer!  (As they have elsewhere.)

Moreover: There's a little law known as "The Americans with Disabilities Act"
which guarantees equal public access to all Americans.  Since smokers are
'debilitated' by their habit and WILL NOT patronize places where they cannot
indulge in their LEGAL addiction (Especially if alcohol is involved) the
requirement that they cannot smoke in 'public places' effectively abridges
ACCESS to these places. (Counter to the Americans with Disabilities Act.)
You may laugh at this proposal, but an Arbitrator in a B.C. Canada in hearing a
Union Case against BC's "smoke free workplace" Ban in 2000 (involving an
American Steel Company, and its Union) thought this argument had MERIT.  BC
wound up rolling back their ban to allow for separate, ventilated, 'designated
smoking rooms' - with the requirement that no worker is allowed to spend more
than 20% of their shift in those rooms.

Why don't you run THESE arguments by your legal counsel? At the very least, you
could ADD  them to your Complaint! (And 'back your bet' with more than one
charge.)

I would be interested to hear your thoughts on these suggestions - but I would
be even MORE interested to hear what a Judge might think! :)

Yours in Solidarity!
"Aunty" Lynn
New Jersey
Member: Smokers Club Inc.

I'm not sure if my e-mail address was added to the mailing list, but I would
like to receive updates on CER meetings and news. I am the Point of Contact on
this issue for the Libertarian Party of Colorado. The LP is the only party in
the state that opposes the smoking ban as part of its fundamental principles.
For the LP, this is not a matter of health or profits, but one of property
rights and the free market. Business owners should be free to determine how they
run their businesses, as customers should be free to choose which businesses
they wish to patronize.