thoughtmechanics

An article on CNN brought back some memories from April 1, 2004 when my home state, Connecticut, banned smoking in all restaurants and bars. It seems that smoking bans are becoming more popular around the world as “both Northern Ireland and England are introducing similar bans next year,” and here in the U.S. all but 17 states have bans on smoking.

When Connecticut introduced it’s smoking ban, I remember hearing from conservatives how the government was taking away “our rights” and that business owners should be able to choose what people do and don’t do in their place of business. These people are amazing; on the one hand, they are pro-life to the point that they believe legislation should exist in favor of their cause, yet it’s perfectly okay in their eyes for people to be poisoned by second-hand smoke.

If a club owner wants to dictate the color of my shirt or the style of my tie, that’s fine–neither of those things are a threat to the health of the public. Second hand smoke, however, is a threat to public health. You might think that proponents of a “culture of life” would agree. Sadly, that’s not the case.