“Dead on arrival". An amendment that would change Fort Wayne’s strict smoking ban voted down before ever reaching the table. City council reporter Nicole Pence first reported the news.

It took less than one-minute to read the amendment, and only two more before Council shot the idea of altering the smoking ban down. But, what made the roughly 100-person crowd the most angry was that not every council member was there to vote.

Jim Butler/Bar & Club Owner: "I feel like we just got robbed. Two minutes in the court room and they shot us down. Two people on City Council didn't show up, and here's people that's losing their business. What are they doing to Fort Wayne?"

It was a majority vote, but not enough. Four council members: Karen Goldner, Tom Didier, Mitch Harper, and the amendment's author Marty Bender, voted to see the city's smoking ban debated again.

Tom Didier/(R) Council President: "I just thought we should at least bring it up. Look at the numbers, look at the facts, look at figures of these bar owners and then make a pointed discussion."

Three members voted against that viewpoint: council members Tim Pape, Tom Smith, and Liz Brown.

Liz Brown/(R) Councilwoman: "I was not going to vote regardless to bring the bill forward into committee, so that there would be discussion because I was not going to vote to change it."

But, because two council members, Glynn Hines and John Shoaff, weren't there, the proposal was "dead on arrival." City law states that a majority of five votes, one way or the other, is necessary.

Loren Fifer/"Peanuts" Bar Owner: "We'd thought we'd have a full nine councilman here. It says to me, this was already prearranged."

Indiana's NewsCenter phoned Councilman Hines after the meeting. He says he was sick with the flu, but watched everything unfold on television. Hines argues his absence didn't matter, because he "would have voted 'no' anyway."

Indiana's NewsCenter tried to contact Councilman Shoaff, who also missed the controversial vote, but calls were not returned. Other council members tell us he was snowed in at an airport in another state.

Like those who stormed out, the amendment's author feels cheated.

Marty Bender/(R) Councilman: "Sometime in the future here I'd like to bring it up and have five people to say we don't to introduce this."

Again, it's possible for councilman bender to re-introduce the exact same ordinance as soon as he wants. For now, the city's smoking ban isn't changing.