Actors don`t have a First Amendment right to light up on stage, a state judge ruled Monday, striking an initial blow against a bid to exempt theater companies from Colorado`s new statewide smoking ban.<\/p>\n
Denver District Judge Michael A. Martinez denied a request for a preliminary injunction \u2014 sought by Boulder`s Theatre 13 and Denver`s Curious and Paragon theaters \u2014 against the Colorado Department of Health over its enforcement of the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act, which became law in July.<\/p>\n
“From the testimony I`ve heard, the plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate that smoking in the theater constitutes expressive conduct,” Martinez said in his ruling, which he issued without requiring the state to present evidence in support of the smoking ban.<\/p>\n
The judge also said he opposed crafting an exemption to the ban, which bars smoking in most public places, for health reasons: “It would disserve the public health and the public interest.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Cigarettes and smoking are very expressive, and have a long history in theater and film to that end. If the concern is about public health, I would have no apprehension about an exemption that required notification in publicity for a theatrical production.<\/p>\n
\nAlthough Boulder theater companies had been exempted from the city`s 1995 smoking ban, the new statewide law superseded that. Theatre 13`s producers chose to have three actors smoke an herbal cigarette on stage in its most recent production, but no audience members complained to the authorities, and the theater incurred no fines for breaking the law.<\/p>\n
The most pressing issue is for Curious Theatre, which is scheduled to open the play “tempOdyssey” on Saturday. The play calls for a character to smoke part of a cigarette. Curious` producers had hoped to use an herbal, non-tobacco cigarette in the production. But the Clean Indoor Air Act bans “cloves and any other plant matter or product that is packaged for smoking.”<\/p>\n
According to Curious Theatre Producing Artistic Director Chip Walton, the smoking in “tempOdyssey” is fundamental to the audience`s understanding of the play.<\/p>\n
During his testimony Monday, Walton noted that Curious is under contract with the literary agent for Dan Dietz, the playwright who wrote “tempOdyssey,” to perform the piece as written.<\/p>\n
“I believe that it should be our right as artists to faithfully produce our art as a playwright intended it,” Walton testified.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
I do find it amusing that the state-wide band is more restrictive than what Boulder put in place.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Okay, I have no problems at all with indoor, public place smoking bans. 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It was something that was very quick...","rel":"","context":"In "Health"","block_context":{"text":"Health","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/health"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24401,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2011\/12\/09\/underfunded-education-in-colorado.html","url_meta":{"origin":9792,"position":1},"title":"Underfunded education in Colorado","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 9-Dec-11 9:55pm","format":false,"excerpt":"I suspect Katherine will be in college before this gets settled in the courts. #ddtb Embedded Link Denver court decision in education suit says Colorado is underfunding schools by billions - The Denver Post In a ruling that could have multi-billion dollar consequences for Colorado\u001bs budget, a Denver judge ruled\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24251,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2011\/12\/05\/re-redistricted.html","url_meta":{"origin":9792,"position":2},"title":"Re-Redistricted","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 5-Dec-11 5:55pm","format":false,"excerpt":"After the last go-around (https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2011\/11\/15\/unredistricted.html), it looks like we in Colorado have our redistricting. And that it leads to substantially more competitive districts all-around is, I think, a good thing. Plus, I feel a lot more in common with a suburban ring around Denver than with the more rural and\/or\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24910,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2011\/12\/29\/colorado-asks-for-a-pot-break.html","url_meta":{"origin":9792,"position":3},"title":"Colorado asks for a pot break","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 29-Dec-11 3:44pm","format":false,"excerpt":"I don't have any personal stake in this -- I've never used pot and have no particular urge to. But looking at the excessive costs of anti-pot policing, vs. the marginal gain, treating it as anything worse than alcohol is just foolish. #ddtbReshared post from +Breaking NewsColorado asks DEA to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32845,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2013\/03\/21\/colorado-finally-gets-civil-unions.html","url_meta":{"origin":9792,"position":4},"title":"Colorado (finally) gets civil unions","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 21-Mar-13 11:12pm","format":false,"excerpt":"A major step -- but, honestly, still a \"separate but equal\" kind of arrangement.Reshared post from +The Denver PostColorado civil unions bill signed into law by Gov. John HickenlooperColorado Gov. John Hickenlooper has signed a civil unions bill into law, which will allow same-sex couples to form civil unions beginning\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9466,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2006\/06\/30\/doused.html","url_meta":{"origin":9792,"position":5},"title":"Doused","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 30-Jun-06 9:31am","format":false,"excerpt":"With the new public places smoking law going into effect here in Colorado, things are a-changing at the office. 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