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Veterans hope to make clubs exempt from state smoking ban 

rmy veteran Mike Stapleton said clubs where those who fought to defend the freedoms of this nation gather should be exempt from the state's smoking ban, which takes effect May 1.

"It's wrong for lawmakers to tell us private clubs what to do," said Stapleton, 61, who served in the Vietnam and Desert Storm wars.

"This (smoking) should be up to members. When we were under fire, being shot at and bombed, we'd smoke when we got a break to calm our nerves and relax."

Stapleton, of Jenison, and others at American Legion Post 179 in Grandville have signed a petition to get all veteran clubs exempt from the law passed in December. The ban applies to all bars, restaurants and workplaces. The only exemptions are for cigar bars and the gaming floors of existing casinos.

The petition drive, being coordinated on the east and west sides of the state, so far has 1,500 signatures from members of American Legion posts, Veterans of Foreign Wars and other clubs.

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