The battle is officially on against a smoking ban that will take effect next month in Lawrence.

Nearly 100 people gathered Tuesday night to launch a petition drive to make sure the option to smoke in public indoor places is decided by Lawrence residents and not by a few elected officials.

“I’m a nonsmoker, but I think it ought to be a decision by the majority of people and not just five people,” said Ed Almanza, referring to Lawrence city commissioners who recently voted to ban smoking in all indoor workplaces in the city. “I think businesses ought to be able to have a ‘no smoking’ area.”

Patricia Martin agreed.

“I just don’t like (commissioners) telling us what kind of businesses we can have or not have,” said Martin, who also attended the petition rally held in the Dorsey-Liberty Post No. 14 of the American Legion, 3408 W. Sixth St.

“I think most smokers are courteous about when they smoke,” said Martin, who said she smoked and frequented many restaurants in Lawrence.

The petition drive was organized by several owners of bars and restaurants and others who call their group the Appeal to Reason and Tolerance Coalition. They need to obtain the names of 3,764 registered voters living in the city of Lawrence to force the Lawrence City Commission either to rescind the smoking ban or put the issue to a public vote.

By the end of the meeting, 35 people had signed the petition, and 40 people had volunteered to circulate petitions around town. People circulating petitions are required to sign the petition they carry for them to be legally valid, so in essence the group had collected 75 signatures at the meeting.

“I don’t favor regulating what a private individual does,” said Rod Anderson, owner of the Hereford House restaurants in Lawrence and the Kansas City area.

Clete Stroda, left, receives instructions for the petition against the Lawrence workplace smoking ban from Phil Bradley, director of the Kansas Licensed Beverage Assn. and a ban opponent. Opponents of the ban, which goes into effect July 1, 2004, rallied a month earlier at the American Legion Hall, 3408 W. Sixth St.

Chuck Magerl, owner of Free State Brewing Co., and one of the members of the coalition, said he was pleased with the attendance at the meeting.

“This is real here,” he said. “This is a grass-roots effort. I would have been happy if only 40 people showed up.”

The Kansas Restaurant and Hospitality Assn. is keeping an eye on what happens with the smoking ban in Lawrence, said Mike Casey, the association’s vice president for marketing.

“We are in favor of the businessman being able to run his business the way he chooses,” Casey said.

Cheryl Ball said she was disappointed that only City Commissioner Sue Hack talked about considering possible compromises to the smoking ban.

“I’m a smoker, but I think there should be a compromise on this,” Ball said.

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The ban goes into effect July 1. If the petition drive is successful, it could mean the issue will be on the November general election ballot in Lawrence. The petition drive will not stop the ban from going into effect before the election.

“This is the last resort we have available to us to try to get to a point of discussion,” said Phil Bradley, director of the Kansas Licensed Beverage Assn. and a ban opponent.

There will be additional events in the coming weeks in connection with the petition drive, including fund-raisers, Magerl said. The money raised will be used to pay for various costs such as purchasing and printing papers and maintaining a Web site that is being developed.

The coalition has 180 days to collect the required signatures and turn them into the Douglas County clerk for verification.