Robert Pratt
Just to show you how out of kilter things are in Lubbock and its city council, the big issue before that council is a tobacco, not smoking, but tobacco and nicotine ban. Not new you say? Yes, but Lubbock already has a smoking ban, among the oldest in the state. So why is the issue back before the council? Because radical Left-wingers have decided that it is their job to use government to tell people what they can and can’t do in their own property. And, don’t for a moment think this new proposal is about the health of others.
A KCBD-TV report contained this line: “…if the ordinance is passed, it would outlaw the smoking of cigarettes, e-cigarettes and the use of snuff and chewing tobacco in public places.” Yep, snuff and chewing tobacco. But wait, there’s more…
“…if the ordinance is passed, it would outlaw… the use of snuff and chewing tobacco in public places.”
The ordinance would make it illegal to smoke in your own car while waiting in line at McDonald’s, the bank, the pharmacy, or anywhere with a service window including a toll taker at the airport parking lot – even if your window is rolled up!
It even makes it illegal to smoke in one’s own home if a business service is rendered therein such as the plumber coming by or the UPS man having you sign for a package in your doorway.
Liberal council members Latrelle Joy and Floyd Price favor it. Victor Hernandez and Jim Gerlt are the swing votes who haven’t said which way they’ll go.
Citizens who favor fair laws and civic sanity need to be present today, Thursday the 23rd of October, at the Lubbock City Council meeting beginning at 5:15pm.
And, the backers of this Stalin-like ordinance, especially lawyer Matthew Harris, should be held in contempt by every true American.
This is not about smoking or tobacco, it is about Private Property Rights.
We are starting and / or continue fighting from behind because the language has been corrupted. “Public” property in no longer what it should be – Public property is that owned by the public; as in government buildings. Private property that allows access to the public (restaurants, businesses, homes) is now labeled as “public property” opening the door for government control.
I do not smoke, never have, and do not like being around it – but this ordinance needs to be defeated because it is about Private Property Rights and we as individuals need to take responsibility on where we go, where we work, and where we take our families. These decisions should not be the government’s. We don’t like it when it comes from D.C. – we should not like it nor condone it when it comes from the local government.
The line about snuff and chewing tobaccos is attributed by KCBD to the mayor. It is the least of the reasons this ordinance should be opposed.