Michigan House Ignores Casino Workers With New Smoking Ban Vote

The Michigan House took the bold move on Tuesday of deciding which lives are worth saving and which are not. The House voted in favor of a smoking ban for all workplaces, except in casinos. They were pleased with their efforts when the day was done.

"We're putting public health first and preventing thousands of needless deaths," said Representative Lee Gonzalez, apparently unaware that thousands of more people will be put at risk because of the House's resistance to include casinos in the ban.

The plan now moves to the Senate, and they have been adamant about their position of having a complete smoking ban, with no exceptions. The Senate members are concerned with one thing and one thing only, public health. They do not care about the potential for revenue decreases at the casinos if a smoking ban is put in place.

Representative Timothy Bledsoe agrees with the Senate stance. He said there should be no reason to send a smoking ban to the Senate unless all residents of Michigan are protected. Even with the desire for a complete ban, Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop admits there may be room for compromise.

Some surprising states have banned smoking in public places in the recent past. The most unlikely of those states was North Carolina, a state that is largely dependent on the tobacco industry. They decided, however, that public health must come before profit.

"The truth of the smoking issue is much like all other political issues, whatever is best for the pockets of the state is what will occur," said Gary Freeser, an anti-smoking advocate, "many states have justified protecting bar and restaurant employees from the deadly dangers of second hand smoke, but have disregarded the rights for casino workers. It is ridiculous."

May 27, 2009
Posted By Tom Jones
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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