Nip it in the butt

A few nights ago, I ventured into a downtown bar in Madison, Wisconsin with a friend of mine. Before long, the bartender whipped out an ashtray from behind the counter and commenced to light up.

The big deal? Madison is the latest city to have been struck by a smoking ban in bars – meaning the bartender’s cigarette was either a bizarre form of civil disobedience or a reckless disregard for the law of the land.

But it isn’t that simple. With the ban having just gone into effect July 1, there is already immense pressure on the city council to repeal it. An anti-ban organization has formed, suggestions of votes flipping on the council are running ramped and the possibility of a ballot referendum this spring is quite real.

In short, the ban – an overly-paternalistic slap against local business – has been met by the worst of fears coming true. Bars are losing business to surrounding cities and towns. Pro-ban advocated always advertised that it worked in Manhattan, so naturally it will work in Madison. But, as everyone seems to have forgotten in the lead up to this Orwellian piece of legislation, Manhattan is an island. Madison is not.

Yet it seems Madison isn’t the only city to be struggling with the consequences of such an irresponsible ban. The Twin Cities not too long ago imposed a ban of their own and now the Star Tribune is reporting that it could go up in smoke before long.

Laissez-fare economics provide for smoke-free bars. Madison has them long before the ban and will have them long after it is hopefully repealed. But to regulate a legal substance on private property in a manner as draconian as this is simply ridiculous.

So how much danger was that bartender in? A highly placed City of Madison official who is a frequent source of mine for The Badger Herald made an interesting point: the backlash against the ban – less than two months after it was imposed – is so severe that the city frankly can’t afford a test case. In other words, it may be even less enforced than jaywalking laws.