The Smokers' Rebellion

It began quietly on Saturday, July 7, 2007. The early events were non-violent, though many of the participants were gun owners - registered or not. There were no slurs - racial or otherwise - from the demonstrators, though their numbers certainly included a contingent of so-called rednecks. There was no name-calling and little profanity, though the protestors were clearly acting with civil disobedience and some were later arrested.

Most newspapers, if they covered the story at all in the beginning, relegated it to the inside pages of the Sunday morning edition. "Smokers Rebel", a few bravely declared on page six. The most common headline, however, was "Bar Owners Face Stiff Penalties For Allowing Smokers To Light Up"

An article from The Boise Statesman:

"Larry Byrnes, who owns Charlie's Pub in the small Idaho community of Wyndam, was pleasantly surprised to see a dozen or more of his long-time patrons return to their usual tables last night. None of them had been in since last month when the state modified the previously enacted smoking ban to include bars and bowling alleys.

"No question my business has suffered. Profit this past thirty days has been practically nil," Byrnes said. "So I was glad to see those folks. More than that, most of them are old friends."

Byrnes' "friends" ordered beer or wine, burgers or finger steaks, usual Saturday evening fare at Charlie's. Within half an hour the place was filled nearly to capacity, both the lone waitress and the cash register were busier than they had been for a month. "Just like the good old days," Byrnes told his wife when he called her at home to come help wait tables. "Lots of people I don't remember seeing in here before."

When Ray Samson, a man Larry Byrnes has called friend for more than a decade, called out, "Hey Larry, we need an ashtray over here, you throw 'em out or just store 'em in the back?", Byrnes laughed and waved him off. But Samson wasn't joking. He and his wife, as well as the other couple at the table, all lit cigarettes. "You know you can't do that in here, Sam", Janet Byrnes admonished. "And who's to stop us, Jan?" Marla Samson asked quietly. As if on cue, people at nearly every other table lit up.

"At least they were all in what used to be the smoking section," Jan Byrnes said. "All I could think of to do was go back and turn on the vent fans we used every day until a month ago."

"I think it was Ralph who called the cops", she added. "He's been one of the worst to complain about smokers and I saw him standing by the door when this started, looking horrified."

By ten p.m. it was over and Charlie's Pub was all but empty. Larry and Janet Byrnes sat at a booth at the end of the bar and stared at the citation issued by a city police officer who was perched on a stool nearby drinking coffee. Asked what the fine would be, the officer shook his head sadly and replied, "One hundred dollars for each violation and we counted thirty seven individuals who were still smoking when we arrived. Each of them got citations too."

The owners of Charlie's Pub are not alone. The officer said his department issued citations to four of the remaining ten Wyndam bars and restaurants during the evening and he understood there had been complaints they hadn't had time to answer. A police department spokesman confirmed that dispatchers had logged calls from each of the other six. 'We just didn't have enough manpower to get to all of them. There were other activities tonight that required attention from law enforcement.' "