Mixed feelings on Minnesota smoking prohibition
I'm struggling a bit here in Minnesota where there is a relatively new law that I vehemently disagree with in principal... and yet I rather enjoy one of the side effects.
What is that? Smoking in restaurants.
Tuesday night while at Benigans my friend asked the waitress for a cigarette which she was more than willing to give and after a few more games of chess he asked if he could get an ash tray and a lighter to which he was told that he couldn't smoke there.
We were both a little shocked and not sure of the extent of the prohibition.
Back in South Dakota we've got a ban that prohibits in most public places that do not have a liquor license... here, the socialists went one better.
A few days ago my buddy and an old schoolmate of his went to a bar in uptown and played some pool there for a few hours and an hour in I realized something... the place didn't stink, there wasn't the reek of smoke and the cloud of haze above from countless smokers.
Don't get me wrong... I think smokers are god damn idiots and despise the smell of their dirty deeds... at the same time though I support their right to do it and to do it where they choose and if I do not like it... I too am free to choose not to go to places where they are.
This creates a momentary quandary for me... on one hand I like the effects of the law while on the other I am against such government intrusions into the lives of people and businesses.
I say that this is only a momentary quandary as I am firmly on the side of the businesses and dare I say it... the smokers to. Once again the Minnesota socialists have gone too far and dared to interfere with the daily lives and businesses of otherwise law abiding citizens.
What is that? Smoking in restaurants.
Tuesday night while at Benigans my friend asked the waitress for a cigarette which she was more than willing to give and after a few more games of chess he asked if he could get an ash tray and a lighter to which he was told that he couldn't smoke there.
We were both a little shocked and not sure of the extent of the prohibition.
Back in South Dakota we've got a ban that prohibits in most public places that do not have a liquor license... here, the socialists went one better.
A few days ago my buddy and an old schoolmate of his went to a bar in uptown and played some pool there for a few hours and an hour in I realized something... the place didn't stink, there wasn't the reek of smoke and the cloud of haze above from countless smokers.
Don't get me wrong... I think smokers are god damn idiots and despise the smell of their dirty deeds... at the same time though I support their right to do it and to do it where they choose and if I do not like it... I too am free to choose not to go to places where they are.
This creates a momentary quandary for me... on one hand I like the effects of the law while on the other I am against such government intrusions into the lives of people and businesses.
I say that this is only a momentary quandary as I am firmly on the side of the businesses and dare I say it... the smokers to. Once again the Minnesota socialists have gone too far and dared to interfere with the daily lives and businesses of otherwise law abiding citizens.
posted by Brendan at
9:53 PM
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