{"id":8050,"date":"2018-02-06T05:33:30","date_gmt":"2018-02-06T05:33:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/?p=2941192"},"modified":"2018-02-06T05:33:30","modified_gmt":"2018-02-06T05:33:30","slug":"aurora-girl-scouts-spur-adoption-of-colorados-first-vehicle-smoking-ban-to-protect-minors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/aurora-girl-scouts-spur-adoption-of-colorados-first-vehicle-smoking-ban-to-protect-minors\/","title":{"rendered":"Aurora Girl Scouts spur adoption of Colorado\u2019s first vehicle smoking ban to protect minors"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/aurora-girl-scouts-spur-adoption-of-colorados-first-vehicle-smoking-ban-to-protect-minors\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<p>What started off last spring as an effort by an Aurora Girl Scout troop to take on a social service project turned into passage Monday of Colorado\u2019s first ban on smoking in a vehicle while children under 18 are inside.<\/p>\n<p>The Aurora City Council passed the measure on a razor-thin 6-5 vote, putting smokers and drivers in the city of 360,000 on notice that tobacco or marijuana smoking and vaping while a minor is along for the ride could result in mandatory community service \u2014 or even a $150 fine.<\/p>\n<p>Looking on from the audience Monday night were the five girls of\u00a0Troop 60789 \u2014 four of them 13 years old and one 14. They never thought an idea they first kicked around in May to earn their Silver Award \u2014 the Girl Scouts\u2019 second-highest honor \u2014 might result in real on-the-ground change.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe were brainstorming ideas on how to stop it,\u201d Amelia Malchow said of her troop\u2019s nascent notion to outlaw smoking in a car with juveniles present. \u201cWe knew at the time it was a bit far-fetched.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But not so far-fetched that when the idea began to gel that the girls\u2019 project might best be put to practical effect in the form of a new city ordinance, the troop never lost sight of the finish line.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey were passionate about the cause,\u201d said troop leader Kristen Batcho. \u201cOnce they started doing more and more research and learning about the health effects of secondhand smoke, that made them more passionate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Amelia, who, along with four of her troop members, attends Prairie Middle School in Aurora, said it was important to her and her peers that they try to protect some of society\u2019s most vulnerable members \u2014 those with no vote, and in some cases, no voice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSecondhand smoke affects children more because they are still growing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>But to turn a mere notion into legislation, the Scouts realized they needed an advocate on the City Council. They found that ally in Councilman Charlie Richardson.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you talk about secondhand smoke in a very confined space like a vehicle, it\u2019s like secondhand smoke on steroids,\u201d Richardson said. \u201cProtecting kids is absolutely the driving force behind this.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2942475\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter size-article_inline\"><img class=\" lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/aurora-girl-scouts-spur-adoption-of-colorados-first-vehicle-smoking-ban-to-protect-minors\" alt=\"Aurora is poised to become the ...\" width=\"4997\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">\n<p>John Leyba, The Denver Post<\/p>\n<p>Aurora is poised to become the first Colorado city to ban smoking in vehicles when a minor is present. The city council is expected to approve the measure Monday night on Feb. 5, 2018 in Aurora. It\u00d5s a first because it was the idea of Girl Scout Troop 60789 working toward a Silver Award badge, from left to right are Sofia Aarestad 14, Julianna Martin 13, Amelia Malchow 13, Makenna Batho 13 and Micaela Morrill 13 out front of the Aurora Municipal Center in Aurora.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Richardson encouraged members of Troop 60789 to gather as much information as they could about the dangers of secondhand smoke and come back to council with a presentation.<\/p>\n<p>The girls found that other states, such as Arkansas, Vermont and California, had passed similar laws. But despite <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2005\/12\/09\/smoking-ban-reignites\/\">Colorado\u2019s long-time prohibition on smoking inside restaurants and bars<\/a>, there is no law in the Centennial State against smoking in a car carrying children.<\/p>\n<p>Richardson consulted with the city attorney on the right language for an ordinance and brought the measure to his colleagues two weeks ago. After making some changes to the ordinance \u2014 such as replacing a mandatory $150 fine with an initial punishment of community service and making the smoking violation a secondary offense rather than a primary one \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2018\/01\/23\/colorado-town-considers-banning-smoking-in-cars\/\">the City Council unanimously passed the ordinance on first reading<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is not a heavy-handed, punitive measure,\u201d Richardson said.<\/p>\n<p>But several council members disagreed Monday, with Councilwoman Francoise Bergan saying the measure was government overreach.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPassing a law like this is a bridge too far,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Others brought up concerns that the law might lead to targeting by police of minorities or those with lower incomes, who they said smoke at higher rates than the general population.<\/p>\n<p>The ordinance won the praises of the\u00a0Tri-County Health Department, which penned a letter to the council urging it to approve it.\u00a0Maura Proser, public health policy and prevention manager with Tri-County, said there is no doubt that secondhand smoke in the confines of a vehicle is a public health hazard.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe smaller the space, the more concentrated it\u2019s going be,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s about protecting children \u2014 they don\u2019t get a say in how or when they travel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Proser said she wasn\u2019t surprised that it was a Girl Scout troop that made a measure like the one passed Monday a reality.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wasn\u2019t surprised because of the precedent of youths coming together and making a difference,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Just last week, the\u00a0state Supreme Court announced\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2018\/01\/29\/colorado-supreme-court-agrees-to-hear-appeal-in-martinez-oil-and-gas-lawsuit\/\">it will review a case spearheaded by a Boulder teen<\/a>\u00a0that would require that\u00a0oil and gas regulators consider public health and the environment as paramount when issuing new drilling permits.<\/p>\n<p>Xiuhtezcatl Martinez was among a group of teens who first brought an anti-fracking campaign to state regulators in 2013, when Martinez was about the same age as the girls in Troop 60789.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"related right\" \/>\n<p>Batcho, the troop leader, said she is proud of her Girl Scouts and the way they took on the challenge of passing a new municipal law \u2014 \u201cThey jumped in with two feet\u201d \u2014 and can now relish a job well done.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey did not know how powerful and impactful this could be,\u201d Batcho said. \u201cIt\u2019s a good thing to show young girls that you can make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the end, Mayor Steve Hogan voted in favor of the ordinance, breaking a 5-5 logjam. The Girl Scouts covered their mouths and smiled broadly seconds after the vote was cast.<\/p>\n<aside> <\/aside>\n<aside> <\/aside>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<p>What started off last spring as an effort by an Aurora Girl Scout troop to take on a social service project turned into passage Monday of Colorado&#8217;s first ban on smoking in a vehicle while children under 18 are inside. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7509,6811,6857,6812,7170,2205,6892,6813,6848,77,9,5019,441,6228,1,3,7508,6943,61,1736],"tags":[7511,6816,6859,6817,7171,4773,6893,6818,6851,2655,5022,3015,6235,7510,6944],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8050"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8050"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8050\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}