Posted on 06/25/2005 9:41:53 AM PDT by SmithL
With a law barring smokers from lighting up in nearly all city-run open spaces in San Francisco scheduled to take effect next Friday, "No Smoking" signs have yet to be posted, raising questions about how well the ban will be enforced.
Six months ago, the Board of Supervisors passed what is believed to be the most comprehensive outdoor smoking ban in the country. The ban covers parks, squares, gardens and playing fields under city jurisdiction. First offenders could be slapped with a $100 fine issued by a police officer or member of the city's park patrol.
At the time the legislation was passed, city officials estimated that more than 1,000 signs might need to be posted at hundreds of locations around San Francisco. But so far, the Recreation and Park Department has not budgeted any funds for the new signs, according to Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier, who sponsored the legislation creating the ban.
And department officials conceded last week that they haven't even created a mock-up of a sign that would alert residents to the new ordinance.
"That's an outrage,'' Alioto-Pier said, adding that she had written Yomi Agunbiade, the department's acting general manager, a letter about the issue. "They're supposed to be implementing this next week. It's wholly irresponsible. "
The signs are important because city officials are hoping that peer pressure will do more than ticket-writing police officers can in curbing smoking -- and the littering of cigarette butts -- at city parks. But without the law clearly posted, civic-minded citizens might find it hard telling scofflaw smokers to "put it out."
"I think it's fair to say it's going to be a slow rollout,''
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
My kind of man.................
I forgot, I'm also straight.
No wonder they hate me. =)
I guess what I'm really trying to figure out is the almost fascistic zeal some of these women take in making people kowtow to behavior they think is "proper" -- at the expense of everybody's freedom. I'm honestly in the dark as to how one's life could be ruled by such a mad need for control.
One thing I do know: No one into this sort of behavior has any sense of humor at all.
Just thinkin' out loud...
LOL!!!!!!!!!
And other than that he is Methodist - you perfectly match the description of my husband!
I have been thinking the exact same thing.
You got that right. They're the True Believers, convinced of the absolute correctness of their position, and we're the wretched sinners who must be subdued and made to obey.
A cow pie in the face for every one of 'em! And make it fresh!
The ironic thing is, they're usually atheists!
Will defecating on the city streets still be allowed? I sure hope so! Taking away that right would be absolutely intolerable. Maybe an ordinance can be passed that will allow that to take place on the City Hall steps instead.
Hahaha ... we are the Few, the Proud, the Hated.
And with my husband it's actually one step further - not only doesn't he hate smokers, he is one himself :)
I think your attitude needs help! heh!
So, what is your relaxation of choice? Prescription drugs or booze, eh?
Unbelievable!
I thought the reason for banning smoking in enclosed spaces was because of all the nasty litte "critters" that were left in the smoke.Now you can't smoke in a park.What's the rationale now?
Every smoker in SF should have a weekly "smoke-in" at the parks. They do it once a year in Boston for the marijuana crowd and that's an illegal activity.
Madness,absolute madness.Civil disobedience is in order here.
Ahh San Fran. The home of gay men, lesbian women and transvestites! All is well in San Fran land as long as no one is seen smoking.
~gag!
Great idea, because now in San Fran the tobacco smoking is the illegal activity :(
Oh yes! Maybe this eminent domain issue will get the anti-smokers the hell off of our backs!
Are you kidding? This SC ruling just validated the claims of the antis.........they will use that to crank up the attacks on private businesses.
I don't even blame those women for it, really - it's rooted in biology. She is going to do whatever is necessary to make sure her children survive to adulthood, and if that means adoping government as a surrogate husband/father, then so be it.
Generally, once a woman is married and realizes just how big a bite the government is taking out of her family's income to fund all those socialist programs (thereby hurting her children's chances of surviving to adulthood) her whole attitude changes, and she starts buying Anne Coulter books. ;)
I'm afraid you're correct. Pressure must be applied at the state level now if anyone's property is to remain safe.
You know, I've always been something of a goody-two-shoes (with the puzzling exception of my terrible smoking habit, hee hee), but the idea of a smoke-in has got some appeal to me. I am sick and tired of watching these guys (liberals, and people too lazy to do anything but go with the flow) get away with this incrementalism.
The SC is going to hell in a handbasket, and it's a cancer spreading to the rest of the government. Federal, state and local. When the little guys see the big guys getting away with stuff, they just hitch their wagons to it, and away we go. (Precedent-the sneaky, backdoor friend of pols everywhere...not just the ones in black robes)
I am sick of being pressured into eating healthier (no trans-fat versions of favorite products), exercising more, and quitting smoking. If I want to be a chain-smoking fat slob couch potato, that ought to be my choice. By the same token, I don't believe my fellow citizens should be forced to subsidize that lifestyle, either. If I make crappy lifestyle choices, then I ought to pay for them (literally and figuratively).
I swear, if ONE PERSON pipes up about the so-called "dangers of second-hand smoke", I think I'll scream.
Rant off.
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