Michigan Bar Owners Bounce Lawmakers To Protest Smoking Ban
Some days, politicians could use a drink. But lawmakers in Michigan may soon find it harder to get one.
Hundreds of bar owners in the Great Lakes State plan to deprive lawmakers of their hospitality by banning them from their establishments in protest of the state's smoking ban.
A new group, Protect Private Property Rights in Michigan, claims it has more than 500 bar owners statewide pledging to blacklist almost every lawmaker. The idea is to persuade the Legislature to at least revisit the ban, which went into effect last year.
"We're going to have to remind Lansing that our bars are in fact private property, so therefore they are now persona non grata as of Sept. 1," said Stephen Mace, director of the group and a bar worker himself.
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However, the Michigan Licensed Beverage Association was not thrilled with Mace's latest idea. While the group opposes the smoking ban, spokesman Peter Broderick said there are better ways to voice the industry's frustration than by banning lawmakers. "
It could only hurt you to alienate your legislators," Broderick said
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