Sunday, March 2, 2008

Smoking Bans and Private Property Rights

Minnesota recently passed a state wide smoking ban in workplaces (including restaurants and bars) and now Nome is considering a similar measure. After listening to all of the discussion about this I decided to let people know my thoughts on the matter.

Smoking is bad, smoking bans for private places are worse. Smoking has been banned in actual public places for years, city hall, the court house, library, etc. These are actual public places (owned by the public) and smoking should definitely be banned in there. People are required to go to these places to conduct public business. Bars and restaurants are not public, they are owned by individuals. People choose to go to these places.

This is a private property rights issue and not a health issue. There are two "slippery slopes" that we are starting down. What is a public place, and what is an activity that the government can regulate? We can all probably agree that the city hall, court house, etc are public places that should be regulated, now they are trying to say that a bar or restaurant is also a "public place". How long until the government decides that it is in the publics best interest to regulate your home? The other issue is what are the activities that the government can regulate? Today it is smoking, but it is not too much of a stretch to include consuming alcohol or eating fattening foods on the list of regulated activities. Once you decide to regulate one private activity you open the door to regulating all private activity.

This is just one more step down the road to the complete nanny state. Where we let the government control every aspect of our lives because we are not responsible enough to take care of ourselves.

Start taking some personal responsibility and stand up for yourself.

C.O. Rudstrom

2 comments:

The Litrenta Family said...

FYI, I also heard that some places are trying to ban smoking in your own car. Why not ban cigarettes completely if they are so dangerous?

Bayley said...

Very well said C.O.

Michigan is proposing a similar ban as well. While I prefer to drink / dine in smoke-free establishments, I also think that setting should be at the choice of the bar / restaurant owner(s).

What’s next? Locks on the hood of our automobiles that only certified dealer mechanics can access? Laugh all you want, but some folks in Washington have already proposed this.