Discount Cigarettes News
Feb 2nd, 2007 - 16:31:59
Next year's legislature has a dramatic reason to amend the state's smoking ban, if you'll pardon the pun. Local theater groups have raised a legitimate objection to the ban, because in its current form it prevents actors from smoking on stage, even if they light up tobacco-free cigarettes. This is the sort of limited exemption that does not undermine the purpose of the law. It should be enacted by the legislature. But the next session of the General Assembly is two months away. And the show(s) must go on. So the groups tried to circumvent the legislative process by filing a lawsuit in state court. They claim that the ban will force directors and actors to significantly modify dramatic performances for no good reason. As an example, they cited tempOdyssey, set to open Saturday at Denver's Curious Theatre. For one character - a chain-smoker - tobacco use takes center stage. Eliminating smoking from the performance, the theater groups argued, would require substantive changes. Denver District Judge Michael Martinez rejected the complaint, arguing that smoking does not constitute a form of "expressive conduct" that is protected by the U.S. or Colorado constitutions. We agree: It's not a constitutional issue but one of straightforward common sense and respect for artistic license. Whether anti-smoking activists like it or not, tobacco use has been a central habit in many people's lives - including lives that might easily become the focus of dramatic productions. It is unreasonable to expect theater companies either to ignore that fact or to deal with it in their productions in an artificial and antiseptic manner. This is an issue of policy, not a question of legal rights. The policy should be modified and the ban lifted for this narrow purpose - in due time, by state lawmakers. © Copyright 2006 by DiscountCigarettesBox.Com Top of Page |
