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{{Show badges| Tobaccowiki | Front groups}}The '''Coalition for Equal Rights''' is a [[front group ]] in the Denver, Colorado area formed to fight the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act, the law that ended smoking in most workplaces and public places in Colorado (including bars and restaurants) as of July 1, 2006.  [[Zack Ford]], listed as the Coalition's Membership Director on the "Contact" page of the coalition's web site, [http://www.stopthebans.com www.stopthebans.com],is was a registered professional lobbyist with the state of Colorado. His whose firm, [[Ford Sovine and & Ford]], also represents represented the [[Colorado Licensed Beverage Association, a long time ]][[Philip Morrishttp://www.stopthebans.com www.stopthebans.com]] ally gives the reader no hint of its relationship to tobacco companies. This is most likely because it did not have any relationship to tobacco companies. The Coalition for Equal Rights filed a lawsuit to overturn the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act, claiming that by exempting certain establishments (like casinos, cigar bars and member the smoking lounges at the Denver International Airport) it violated the equal protection clause of PM's the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution. But in October 2006, U.S. District Court Judge Lewis T. Babcock dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that "Field Action Teamthe exemptions are not irrational or unfair," a group and that it is within the rights of business owners PM mobilizes lawmakers to fight restrictions make them, based on the sale and use economic impact of cigarettesbanning smoking in those establishments."[http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4191/is_20061021/ai_n16817957]  ==Contact Details==Web: http://www.stopthebans.com NOTE: The "Coalition for Equal Rights" web site could not be found after this article was posted on SourceWatch, but a page linking the Coalition to the Colorado Licensed Beverage Association, can be seen at the [http://web.archive.org/web/20060529040534/www.stopthebans.com/index.htm Internet Archive]  ==Other SourceWatch Resources==*[[British American Tobacco]]*[[Ford Sovine & Ford]] [[Category:United States]][[Category:Front groups]][[Category:Tobacco industry]]