MADISON, Wis. -- Hundreds rallied against Madison's controversial smoking ban Tuesday evening, hoping that cranking up a lobbying blitz will help their cause.

They came by the busload from bars across the city -- bartenders, bar managers and owners all hoping the city will hear their call to end the ban.

"It's about these distributors. It's about us. It's about my 5-year-old daughter," said Coliseum Bar owner Pete Beeber. "It's about the new home that I just purchased in Larry Palm's district, and he's telling us that this should be the decision of the voters, not my wage, not my home, not my food."

A group of alders calling for a spring referendum on the ban Tuesday were called the "Bail-Out Six."

"They obviously realize there is a major problem with this ordinance, but they also obviously lack the courage to deal with it immediately," said Nitty Gritty bar owner Marsh Shapiro.

The six alders said the proposal takes the middle ground and offers these businesses an option -- and some hope.

"They call us the 'bail-out alders,' but we really did bail them out," Alderman Zach Brandon said. "They meant that as an insult, but the reality is that the six of us stepped up and said, 'We're going to help you while you go to your final appeal.'"

A group of smoking ban supporters gathering down the street said the ordinance is working; it just needs time. "We know that 80 percent of Madisonians want to be protected from secondhand smoke and the dangers of secondhand smoke exposure," said Smoke-Free Coalition spokeswoman Lisa Davidson.

Others said time is not something they have.

"Next spring -- there will be businesses locked and shuttered, and people out of jobs," Shapiro said.

Organizers said that only a few more votes are needed for a smoking ban repeal.

They handed out fliers with the home numbers of all Madison's aldermen.

Backing the ban were about 100 doctors, nurses and other health professionals from the University of Wisconsin Medical School who put up a united front, showing their support for Madison's smoking ban.

Experts talked about the impact of secondhand smoke - saying it would kill 500 Wisconsin residents this year.

One lung-cancer patient in attendance blamed his disease to years of eating in smoky restaurants.