Jan 06, 2006  |  By: LOU CHIBBARO, JR.  | COMMENTS     

Gay health advocates hailed the D.C. Council's approval this week of legislation to ban smoking in bars, nightclubs and restaurants, but a representative of gay nightlife businesses said the ban would hurt gay bars by driving away customers.

The legislation, which the Council approved by a vote of 11-1, calls for restaurants to ban all smoking when the law takes effect following a 30-day congressional review. Bars and nightclubs would be required to ban smoking by January 2007.

Bars specifically catering to cigar and Hookah water pipe smokers along with tobacco shops are exempt from the smoking ban. Additional exemptions may be available to bars and nightclubs that can demonstrate a "severe" financial hardship.

"It will have a double impact on gay businesses because the percentage of adult smokers in our community is double that of the general population," said Mark Lee, a gay nightlife advocate and proprietor of the weekly gay dance party Lizard Lounge.

Lee acknowledged that gay bar patrons have few alternatives in the Virginia and Maryland suburbs, where gay bars have not flourished. But he predicted large numbers of smokers would spend less time at D.C. gay clubs, resulting in declining revenue and possible staff layoffs.

A coalition of gay and non-gay health and political organizations that campaigned for the smoking ban legislation disputed claims by bar and nightclub representatives that businesses would be hurt.

Accusing the businesses of "crying wolf," the smoking ban advocates cited what they said was convincing data from New York, California and Massachusetts, where smoking bans reportedly have not had a negative impact on bars and entertainment businesses.

"Bar owners always predict they will be ruined," said longtime gay activist Tim McFeeley, the former executive director of the Human Rights Campaign, who has homes in D.C. and Provincetown, Mass.

"This has not happened in Provincetown or Boston," said McFeeley, pointing to a statewide smoking ban adopted in Massachusetts several years ago. "The bars are packed. Business is as good as ever."

Gay D.C. Councilmember David Catania (I-At-Large) is responsible for bringing the smoking-ban bill out of committee and to a full vote of the board. Once signed by Mayor Anthony Williams, the legislation moves to Congress for approval.

McFeeley and other gay supporters of smoking bans predict that any loss of business from smokers will be more than offset by nonsmokers, who have stayed away from gay bars and clubs to avoid the smoke.

Among the D.C. gay groups that endorsed the smoking ban are the Whitman-Walker Clinic, which provides services for people with HIV and AIDS; the Moutner Project for Lesbians With Cancer; the Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance; and the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club.

Gay D.C. Councilmember David Catania (I-At-Large), who introduced the smoking ban bill, is credited with bringing the bill to the floor for a vote after a similar measure languished in committee for nearly two years. Catania, who chairs the Council's Committee on Health, agreed to accept the legislation in his committee after two similar bills assigned to a committee chaired by Councilmember Carol Schwartz (R-At-Large) remained bottled up without a scheduled vote.

Schwartz opposed the bill, saying it would hurt D.C.'s thriving nightlife businesses and take away what she said was the public's "freedom of choice" on whether to smoke. She was the lone councilmember to vote against the bill. Councilmember Sharon Ambrose (D-Ward 6) was absent for the debate and vote.

Mayor Anthony Williams (D) said he opposes the legislation because of its possible harmful effect on businesses. He has hinted that he may veto the bill, but has declined to publicly disclose his intentions. He has 10 days to sign the bill. Supporters say they easily have the two-thirds vote needed to override a mayoral veto.

"Today is a great day not only for everyone who works in a D.C. bar or restaurant, but for everyone who wants to breathe clean air when they frequent public indoor places in the District," said Angela Bradbery, co-founder of Smokefree D.C., the group leading the campaign in support of the bill. "At long last, the D.C. Council has approved a comprehensive smokefree workplace bill."

Bradbery's group brought in doctors and medical researchers who testified that second-hand smoke causes cancer, heart disease and other serious illnesses. The group cited data showing that smoking bans in certain cities resulted in a drop in the number of heart attacks.