Virginia's House of Delegates today rejected a statewide smoking ban in bars and restaurants by a vote of 40-59. I'll post a link to the full roll call vote as soon as it's up.
As the Not Larry Sabato blog reported this week, a Survey USA poll had shown a full 65% of Virginians supported the ban -- and that number includes smokers. The demographic breakdown of who supports the ban:
- 20% of smokersWhile this is a defeat for the health of Virginians, even the vote itself is progress. Until recently, delegates were able to hide behind a subcommittee. But now those 59 delegates will have to go home and explain why they sided with the cigarette lobby over their constituents.
- 70% of Northern Virginians
- 83% of nonsmokers
