Posted on 12/06/2007 5:29:42 AM PST by ShadowDancer
Michigan House Passes Ban On Smoking In Bars, Restaurants
POSTED: 7:47 am EST December 6, 2007
UPDATED: 8:10 am EST December 6, 2007
Smoking in Michigan workplaces, including bars and restaurants, would be banned under legislation passed by the Democratic-led state House.
The vote is a victory for supporters, who have been pushing the measure for a decade.
But it may not get very far in the Senate because majority Republicans oppose it.
Backers say a majority of state residents want a broad workplace smoking ban, and point to the harmful effects of secondhand smoke on employees and patrons.
Opponents say smoking is legal and government shouldn't interfere with the rights of private property owners.
Casinos, horse tracks, bingo halls, cigar bars and smoke shops would be exempt from the smoking ban.
I’ve heard 100 bars have closed here in Ohio. It’s pretty pathetic that hubby and I have to go to Vegas for him to enjoy a cigar with his adult beverage. There is a word called CHOICE, but the other side WANTS IT ALL and got it. Sad that there couldn’t be some sort of compromise where almost everyone would have been happy. Because of that, there are a lot of unhappy adults here in Ohio. There is not one single place in the state of Ohio where an adult can partake of a tobacco product; private clubs are even illegal, and the vets cannot smoke in their own VFW halls. PATHETIC. At least Michigan seems not to be that draconian about it.
Hear! Hear!
Poorly run?
That’s a hell of an assumption.
These bars were doing good business before that nanny staters moved in.
Good to see so many Americans accept government intrusion at all levels.
Bloomberg’sm is spreading. Daddy knows best.
Second hand smoke is like global warming - a scare tactic based on rigged science in order to gain more control over our lives.
Opponents say smoking is legal and government shouldn't interfere with the rights of private property owners.
And that is the real nub of the matter, eliminating private and individual property rights.
Casinos, horse tracks, bingo halls, cigar bars and smoke shops would be exempt from the smoking ban.
For now, and only to dampen opposition to this power grab. Once it is accepted elsewhere these locales will fall, also.
- red meat
- fried foods
- white bread
- etc. etc.
“Just to keep the health costs down...”
Why not leave it up to the businessmen rather than the government? If smokers are such pariahs and it is bad for business, then the bar owners will ban smoking voluntarily. Or the patrons can choose between bars based on their preference. Tobacco is not an illegal substance.
Oh, can’t do that. That makes too much sense. Even Rush said this has to stop, folks. Gees.
Wrong! In virtually every place it has been put into effect, a smoking ban has hurt business in bars, and many have closed. The whining nannies don't come out and frequent the businesses they once supposedly avoided because of smoke. Smoking bans cause a loss of business. They are a violation of property rights of the business owners, and an interference in their ability to conduct a legal business for profit, and are an attempt to ban a legal practice.
If the anti's and Nanny State do-gooders were serious about our health, tobacco would be outlawed completely. that will never happen, because there's too much money in it's continued use. The Nanny State whiners are lying through their teeth when they claim their actions are about public health.
The ban goes into effect on 1 Jan, 08 in Illinois.
Warning over 'smoke-easy' lock-ins
Yep, the same as was done with the seatbelt laws.
At first it was "we won't stop you for a seatbelt violation, it will only be added on if you're stopped on another more serious vioalation" now it's "CLICK IT OR TICKET".
“No, this is going to be a great blessing for the Bars.”
Here’s an idea; rather than supporting statist control over private property, why not just simply support establishments that share your view on smoking?
I know, radical concepts, free market and private property rights and all.
(obligatory smoking-thread disclaimer: I do not smoke. I formerly smoked but that was over 7 years ago).
Our government has the biggest tobacco addiction. If tobacco is so vile, so addictive lets ban the product all together. Let the smokers go cold turkey without the tobacco products and let the government go cold turkey without the tobacco tax revenues.
What does the term “free republic” mean to you?
Hear! Hear! They’re pigs in a trough, that’s what it’s coming to.
Well isn't that special. Your rights are all that count! Never fear this will come back to bite you in the butt when the strike is against something legal that you do.
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