Strippers in US protest against smoking ban

Several hundred people joined a handful of exotic dancers in front of the New Jersey Statehouse tonight to protest the US state’s new indoor smoking ban.

Some of the 20 strippers – who were clothed for the protest – said the ban will result in lost clients and less money in their pockets.

“It’s going to murder our business,” said Dominique Hernandez, 24. “A lot of people want to get off of work, have a drink and a smoke and watch some pretty girls. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

A loudspeaker blared popular strip bar tunes such as You Can Leave Your Hat On and Girls, Girls, Girls, but – to the disappointment of some in th crowd – the strippers displayed nothing more risque than their midriffs. Some people carried signs that read “Defy Anti-Smoking Nazis” and “Tobacco Control is Out of Control.”

“We’re standing up for the average Jersey citizen who on their own would never be heard,” said Craig Carton, one of the DJs on a local radio station who organised the rally.

Many onlookers said they were just passing on their way to their offices, but others said they came to protest the smoking ban as a violation of their rights.

“I’ve been a smoker since I was 13,” said Allan Brophy, 24, of Union New Jersey. “Pretty soon they’re going to be outlawing it in our houses.”

Mr Brophy acknowledged that word of strippers at the rally had “piqued his interest.”

The ban, which affects bars and restaurants – but not casinos – is to be signed into law Sunday by Governor Richard J Codey. Mr Codey said the protest wouldn’t change his plan to sign the legislation.

Alan Blumenfeld, owner of a club in Mount Holly described as a “gentlemen’s day care centre,” said the smoking ban would drive away customers across the Delaware River to the state of Pennsylvania. He cloaked his protest in patriotism.

“It’s about camaraderie. It’s the way it’s been for hundreds of years,” Mr Blumenfeld said. “The guys who signed the Declaration of Independence were smokers.”

At one point, the crowd fell silent for the singing of the national anthem, which ended with the strippers saluting and many in the crowd waving baseball caps and cowboy hats while chanting “USA! USA!”