Rep. Kathy Brynaert supported the Freedom to Breathe Act from start to finish, calling it a public health issue and a policy her constituents clearly support.

Rep. Laura Brod opposed it and voted for every amendment aimed at weakening it, saying it’s an unnecessary intrusion on the rights of private business owners.

Rep. Tony Cornish supported amendments aimed at limiting the bill’s reach but voted for the final bill, contending that a representative’s job is to bring the voice of the people to the Capitol and most of his constituents want to eliminate smoking in bars and restaurants.

“It was a tough one,” said Cornish, R-Vernon Center, who has sympathy for the arguments about private property rights.

But with about 54 percent of people he surveyed supporting the ban, and with his own desire to have a uniform law one way or the other across Minnesota, he joined other lawmakers in passing the bill 85-45 Thursday night.

Cornish isn’t particularly worried about the ban putting bars out of business, something claimed by some opponents of the legislation.

“They’re going to step outside for a smoke,” Cornish said of smokers after the ban is enacted. “If there’s an impact, it’s not going to be for long and (business) will come back.”

For Brynaert, DFL-Mankato, it was easy to support the legislation and she served as a co-sponsor. Not only does she think it’s a good idea to protect bar and restaurant employees from second-hand smoke, but Mankato voters already showed their strong support for the idea in a referendum the same day she was elected to the House.

“It’s a really important law,” she said. “And obviously coming from Mankato, I feel empowered by the citizens to support the Freedom to Breath Act.”

Brynaert worries more than Cornish about the impact of the ban on some bars. Not all will be harmed, but some will, she said.

“We have to figure out how to help them with the transition, both as a local community and as a state,” she said.

Brod’s basic philosophy of government ultimately prevented her from supporting the bill.

“In my view, the private property owner should be able to make the decision without the government telling them to go smoke-free,” said Brod, R-New Prague.

If any government restrictions are going to occur, Brod prefers that they come from the city or county level because those units of government understand their local economies the best, she said. And Brod thinks the marketplace would eventually push smoking out of most bars and restaurants anyway as customers become less and less tolerant of smoke-filled establishments.

“The market is already taking care of this issue,” she said.