Court Strikes Down Montgomery County Smoking Ban
In the end, the decision really wasn't about the law, but it is still a disappointing precedent. In the short term, it still means that non-smokers still do not have the right to breathe clean air, and that is just wrong.
Maryland's highest court struck down Montgomery County's sweeping ban on smoking in all bars and restaurants today, issuing a terse, nine-page ruling that objected to the procedures the county used to institute smoke-free dining.
When it passed in 1999, the smoking prohibition was among the first of its kind on the East Coast, but it never took effect because of a court challenge from local bar and restaurant owners. In the intervening years, similar bans have passed in New York City, Delaware, Florida, and a number of local jurisdictions, although none in the Washington area.
Lawyers for the coalition of restaurants and taverns that fought the ban in Montgomery presented the Maryland Court of Appeals with a range of objections to the anti-smoking measure, but today's ruling stuck exclusively to procedural issues, and left unanswered whether such a ban could ever pass legal muster in Maryland.
As a result, even the victors in the suit felt less than satisfied by the high court's unanimous decision.
If I wanted to be exposed to cigarette smoke, I'd take up residence in a smoking lounge at an airport. No one has the right to pollute the air I breathe, to expose me to carcinogens and place my health at risk- and yet that is exactly what smokers assume as their de facto right.
Why shouldn't smoking be banned in public places? Why can't we take a stand for public health by minimizing the exposure to second-hand smoke? Until we take a stand against cigarettes based on public health concerns, smokers will continue to see it as their right to smoke anytime and anywhere. Smokers and other may come back and say that I am advocating prejudice and oppression against smokers. I won't deny that my stance could be interpreted that way, but what I am really about is protecting the RIGHT of non-smokers to breathe clean air, and it is our right. That should be self-evident. Sadly, we find ourselves having to fight for it.
