from The Blaze:
The Campbell County Fiscal Court in Newport, KY voted 3-1 Wednesday night to repeal the city’s indoor smoking ban just two months after it voted to put the ban in place. Opponents of the ban said the decision should be left up to individual, while supporters say repealing the ban will affect the county’s health:
What are your thoughts? There has been a lot of debate in our state about the restaurant smoking ban, do you believe that law should be overturned in North Carolina?
I wish the Tea Party would put the pressure on the Republicans in our NC General Assembly to repeal or at least amend the Smoking Ban to allow private clubs and bars to allow smoking if the owner wants it. This is a property rights issue! I keep hearing the old excuses that no one has mentioned anything about it, restaurant business is booming(not true), therefore they see no need to change it. There are businesses closing because of the ban. How is that good for the economy? I’m not even a smoker and I was against the ban from the beginning. I am not seeing any “change” in the General Assembly and am ashamed they are not willing to take this issue on. However, I like many others will remember when election time comes around again.
I guess it all boils down to what the bedrock principles of the Tea Party is. The NC ban was an ill conceived piece of legislation that was based more upon emotion than the rule of law. The free market was already addressing many of the issues that was being raised by non-smokers.
I got into a heated conversation with a believe it or not Tea Party Activist and she said smokers should not be allowed to smoke any where inside or near the entrances of buildings. I noted that her attitude didn’t sit very well with her Tea Party principles, but she was adamant that smokers should be banned from smoking inside all buildings and that included private establishments including private bars for which she did not attend, but she noted dryly. “I might.”
So smokers rights were put on hold for this fellow Tea Party Activist, because, “She might want to go into a private bar.”
Seems rather hypocritical, doesn’t it, especially from a Tea Party member?
I am a non-smoking resident of Campbell County, KY (the county that repealed the smoking ban). The media is confused about the motive of the repeal; it didn’t have anything to do with smoking. I do not support smoking; however, I am opposed to a ban on consuming a legal product on private property. Tobacco is a legal product, and consumption of tobacco by smoking is legal. Smoking has been banned on public property for some time, which is fine. The government can make the rules it wants on the property it owns, but does not have the right to outlaw the consumption of legal products on private property. The smoke free ordinance in question was an example of the government over-reaching its authority. Not only did it ban consumption of tobacco in all work places, it went to the extent of outlawing ashtrays in privately owned buildings (if you were caught with an ashtray, anywhere in your place of work, you were subject to a fine). What’s next? Carbon Monoxide poisoning is responsible for missed work days and deaths. Should we ban the production of carbon monoxide? If so, not only are we forced to stop driving gas powered vehicles, and mowing the lawn, etc.. we will be forced to remove furnaces from buildings. We believe that we are able to make our own decisions. We have plenty of non-smoking restaurants and bars (about half of the restaurants in Campbell County are non-smoking). There are plenty of alternatives for those of us that prefer a smoke free environment. If the government is truly concerned about the health of its citizens it should outlaw the product, not consumption on private property.