... even if you don't want it. This is pretty much a cornerstone of Liberal "benevolence." Town's tobacco ban hearing too rowdy, ends early. The Westminster, Mass Board of Health has decided to consider a ban on the sale of all tobacco products in their town. The Board of Health, that is has made this decision. And when the proles decide to show up en mass to dissuade the council from passing this law, the meeting was shut down.
...Board of Health chairwoman Andrea Crete gaveled the hearing to a close just 25 minutes into it instead of taking comments. "The crowd's getting out of control and the room's filled to capacity," she said. "We don't want any riots." [..] "I'm disappointed that we didn't get to have the hearing," she said. "We're trying to save lives and prevent children from being future users."
What Ms. Crete means is that she believes that people have no control over their choices and she feels that she must take those choices away from them. For their own good, of course. And then she doesn't want to listen to the "insufferable proletariat" who have the temerity, the outright audacity to think they know what's best for themselves!
Shopkeeper Brian Vincent, whose country store on Main Street sells $100,000 worth of tobacco products a year, said he's collected at least 900 signatures on a petition against the ban. He said smokers will simply make their purchases in other towns and probably buy their gas and groceries there as well. "Having other adults decide what legal item we're not allowed to consume just makes you wonder: If this passes, what could be next? Sugar? Bacon?" he said.
I can assure Mr. Vincent, if this goes through and is allowed to stand, sugar and bacon will be some of the next targets.
When my wife and I were newlyweds, we had planned one evening to go out and have a nice dinner. Then she found out that there was a State Legislature subcommittee meeting on a bill that she was interested in advocating for. My wife was very involved in Hawai'ian state politics. We attended the meeting (after grabbing some hot dogs from the 7-Eleven) and my wife and several other citizens spoke eloquently in favor of the bill. The legislators, after hearing the citizens, decided to kill the bill. My beautiful bride was so upset over that she started a Category 4 shitstorm. Letters to the Editor, the Governor, her State Legislators and those involved in the subcommittee meeting all received nastygrams from her about that event. She was a very influential person in Hawai'ian politics at the time, so she was listened to.
Something else to consider: will the town be able to "afford" this? As in, just for the sake of argument, smokers will go to other stores outside of Westminster to do other shopping while they buy their tobacco products. If there were 20 stores that each sold $100,000 of tobacco annually and there is a 10% tax on those tobacco products, that would mean a tax revenue shortfall of approximately $200,000 in tobacco taxes. Not to mention a shortfall in other "revenue streams."
I see people purchase tobacco when they fill their vehicles at convenience stores, or when they buy groceries. I will bet that those primary purchases will move out to the surrounding areas to coincide with the tobacco purchases if this ban were to go into effect. Which means a large loss of sales (and tax revenue) to the businesses and city government of Westminster.
I don't use tobacco, never have. My parents and sister were heavy smokers, so I do not like it in my presence. If someone smokes near me, I position myself so that I am not affected by it. Or I remove myself from the area entirely. I see it as their choice to smoke, and my choice not to be near it. At the same time, I do not have the right, power or authority to take away someone elses' choice on something. It's their choice, no matter how god or bad, right or wrong I think their decision is.
As long as Liberals believe they must take away choices "for our own good" they must be defeated. Every time and every way. Because if some has that kind of mindset, if given the opportunity, what makes you think they won't take away your choice on other things as well?
11/20/14 UPDATE: According to this article, two of the three members of the Westminster Board of Health saw the writing on the wall and voted to kill the proposal. The chairwoman, Andrea Crete, wanted to keep the proposal "under consideration." Which is, of course, Liberalspeak for "We will pass it later when no one is watching us."