[ccmay]

Restaurants are not public accomodations, they are privately owned and as such the owner has the right to run his establishment as he sees fit.

Horse s**t!

Try serving rotten meat in your restaurant, or selling pot under the counter, or putting up a sign that says 'No blacks allowed.' Crimes and public nuisances are protected by no statute and it matters not whether they take place on public or private property. Tobacco pollution falls into the same category.

If you want to convince your fellow citizens otherwise, feel free to carp on FR or the libertarian sites about your grand theories of why it's Just So Unfair. But as time goes by, expect society -- including the courts -- to pay less and less attention to the whining of smoke junkie crybabies who want to take their nicotine fix in places open to the public.

-ccm

[Nuke'm Glowing]

Just remember, when they come for your SUV, when they close your fast food chains, when prohibition is re-introduced, when red meat, wine, processed foods, chemically treated produce and genetically enhanced other foods are all banned, you, of all people, approved of it. Because you claim that government and a small group of "health authorities" have the right to dictate what you consume, drive or come into contact with in your life. Maybe you should get ahead of the curve and learn the Albanian language now. 1972 Albania is your utopia. So keep fighting for it.

[Liberal Classic]

I wrote:
Restaurants are not public accomodations, they are privately owned and as such the owner has the right to run his establishment as he sees fit.

To which you replied:
Horse s**t!

Try serving rotten meat in your restaurant...

The difference is that no customer wants to get food poisoning, whereas there are plenty of customers who want a cigar or cigarette after dinner.

If you want to convince your fellow citizens otherwise, feel free to carp on FR or the libertarian sites about your grand theories of why it's Just So Unfair.

Well, if you ask me it is a sad day when the rights of business owners and property owners ceases to be a Republican issue.