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{colorado's smoking ban} adam pittman & jonathan bitz Let's get some things straight: 1. Colorado's Smoking Ban is not just about smoking. 2. The United States of America IS NOT a Democracy. The United States of America IS A CONSTITUTIONALLY-LIMITED REPUBLIC. 3. Our Constitution was written to limit the scope of government power and guarantee us all certain rights, rights that are being chipped away at every day with seemingly small encroachments like the smoking ban. As trivial as Colorado?s Smoking Ban may seem to a lot of people, this issue has big implications on how government will operate in the near future in a whole array of facets: some visible, some not, yet. In all the conversations overheard and engaged-in, with intellectuals, pseudo-intellectuals and all their baffling counterparts, talk about Colorado's Smoking Ban inevitably, and hilariously, centers on the watered-down words of, "It sure will be nice not to have to deal with smoky bars and restaurants". Argh. At this point in our conversation my friend, I am ethically-bound to share some information that you have been, for some strange reason, oblivious to: This smoking ban isn't just about smoking. No, something like this is much more about that funny little word in our Declaration of Independence: Liberty. Liberty, in its essence, means choice. You have the choice to go into a public building where people are smoking. You have the choice not to go into a public building where people are smoking. Either way, you are not forced to go into any building at all. The importance is in the choice. With HB-1175, Colorado's Smoking Ban - choice is eliminated from the equation - both for the private citizen and for the private business owner. But, when one person says, "I have the right to enjoy a cigarette with my cocktail." and the person next to him says, "I have the right to breathe clean air while I drink myself into a stupor," how should we address this argument? The Constitution doesn't mention anything specific about either of the "rights" claimed by either party. But there is a mechanism in place to deal with just such an issue, one of the cornerstones of our inborn rights, something that is specifically addressed by the Constitution: Property rights. The person that the business owner sides with would traditionally be the winner of this argument. We're losing sight of what we're supposed to be as a society. Allowing people to be adults and make decisions for themselves is passé these days, even on one?s own property. Big Mother has been on a rampage for the last decade or so, doing its best to keep us all safe from ourselves in spite of the Constitution. The Constitutional purpose of our government is to promote commerce, build roads, protect us from foreign invasion, and protect individual rights. This includes property rights. Any act to the contrary is an outright violation of the United States Constitution. And Colorado's smoking ban is a violation of property rights, period. This isn't a public health issue. It isn't a well-intentioned law. If it were, there wouldn't be exemptions for casinos. There would be provisions for separate smoking areas with ventilation systems. What this is - is a serious abridgement of an important, basic right brought about by the current unpopularity of the activity of smoking, and the reckless disregard of our rights that our government has been so enamored of, as of late. And you my friend, are allowing this to happen. Once again, whether you smoke or not, is not the point. Whether smoking is bad for you is not the point. Whether you don't like the smell is not the point. The point is that business owners have the right to create their own standards, on who they wish to refuse service to and how they wish to handle smoking standards for the property that they own. And the Constitution is supposed to protect this right. "Oh, but the Constitution is outdated and has no relevance in our contemporary world!" They shriek from the rooftops. Hold your breath. Our Constitution is what makes us a Republic. Our Constitution is what says that we are not a Democracy. Our Constitution is what sets the limits and guidelines that have to be followed in our governance. It is what outlines the basic rights that have to be recognized. A Democracy is mob rule - and mob rule is the kind of thing that keeps black people at the back of the bus. A Democracy is what we are not. The Constitution limits the government's power in whole host of ways. Unfortunately, our duly elected representatives on all sides of the fence are failing us more and more often, ignoring the strict guidelines and limitations laid-out for them, acting like a mob themselves. And our judiciary isn't helping us any either. And neither are we helping ourselves. This is not about political parties. This is about our way of life. This is about those little words tossed around by dishonest politicos everyday that really do mean everything, like "freedom" and "liberty". When our boundaries are crossed, "because they are best for us and our health", and people ignorantly invest in them, obfuscated by what is truly involved in the implication, we'll continue in the truly frightening direction we've been heading. Toward the Totalitarian. The Dictatorial. A smoking ban is not just a ban on smoking, it is a ban on choice. But, alas, the ban is upon us, just in time for the celebration of our Independence Day. We may all be breathing a little easier when we go out to punish our livers, but I'm afraid our freedom has developed emphysema. |
