Evansville, Ind. Could Get Their Smoking Ban Back

A bit of a legal technicality could reinstate the Evansville, Ind. smoking ban recently passed and then overturned by the Indiana Supreme Court.

14News.com reports that after a meeting between City Council President John Friend and a legislative attorney in Indianapolis, a loophole may have been found that would allow the city to ban smoking in its bars and restaurants while not being in violation of the state constitution’s Equal Privileges and Immunity Clause, which is what prompted the state’s high court to overturn the ban. The term is repairment, and Friend told the station that “as (I) understand it, that means vessels like the Tropicana Riverboat in downtown Evansville are regulated by maritime law.”

That would mean that the Tropicana Casino is technically not part of the city because it is a riverboat in the Mississippi River. In turn, the exemption provided to them in the original ban would be nullified and the ban could return without issue.

While it is not clear if this development will apply to this case, Friend said he wants the city’s attorneys to begin investigating it.

Friend also met with Indiana Governor Mike Pence and suggested that the state could make all riverboat casinos either smoking or non-smoking, which would then allow cities whether or not to allow smoking in bars and taverns.

Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for Major League Baseball, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.