As a result of Moose International/Supreme Council considering encouragement from the membership, the overwhelming majority recently voted at the Las Vegas Convention to cease smoking in our Moose lodge homes. Theban includes all tobacco products - including smokeless tobacco and vaping and further includes the use of cannabis products.
Our world has changed and that has been shown in the votes taken on a smoking ban, which have shifted in less than a decade from a "no" majority to a "yes" majority. In Las Vegas, that majority easily surpassed the two-thirds majority needed.
The question now is how this vote will be accepted. What we ask is that you respect the decision of the membership at the same level that the previous decision was acknowledged and accepted. I personally feel that if we use the excuse that the lodge is going to close as a result of this, we are looking for an excuse to fail or we are catering to a few in order to keep things the same.
Instead, we should be looking at the positives of this vote. We could consider working on a plan to adapt and overcome vs. giving up. We could go back in our membership records and contact those who dropped because of the smoke and let them know what’s going on. I never want to be controversial but it’s time that we tell it like it is.
OUR PAST CANNOT SUPPORT OUR FUTURE! If you TRULY LOVE the Moose and believe in what we do, I know it's not an issue for you. I ask the lodge leadership to work to accommodate all of our members and be sincere in your considerations. We can make this work! We are part of a bigger plan. It's NOT all about "US"!