Casper, Wy. Heading Towards Repeal of Smoking Ban

It would be hard to blame residents of Casper, Wy. for feeling like the rules regarding if and where they can light up change seemingly every year, and for the fourth time in three years, those rules could change once again.

The current city council appears headed towards a repeal of both of the city’s previous two smoking ordinances; the 2012 version banned smoking in all public places including bars and restaurants, while in 2013 a less restrictive version was passed and allowed people to light up in drinking establishments. Following the passage of the less restrictive ban in 2013, lawsuit was filed to bring the original ban back, with the Wyoming Supreme Court recently ruling that signatures gathered were valid and the stricter ban should be reimplemented, something that has been in place for nearly a week.

On Tuesday, the council voted 6-3 in favor of repealing the 2013 version and and 7-2 to repeal the 2012 version.

As has been the case in other cities around the country when it comes to smoking bans, discussion at Tuesday’s meeting centered around the rights of businesses to operate as they see fit and the protection of public health, especially the health of employees in establishments where smoking would be allowed.

One option that the council did not consider was sending the matter to a public vote, something that would cost approximately $30,000 according to reports from both Trib.com and K2Radio.com. Vice Mayor Daniel Sandoval said he thought that voters would be confused by a ballot measure given how the ban has changed so frequently in recent years.

The second of three required votes to repeal the bans is scheduled for Sept. 22.

Casper is the second largest city in Wyoming with a population of nearly 55,000 residents.