No Smoking laws. GOOD.

"The health issue is not our concern. What they do to their bodies is stupid, yes, but it not our concern. Yes, it is dumb that we have to pay for them." It's more than dumb. It's a crime! Health issues always find their way into the pockets of the tax payer. I don't argue that one has the right to his own stupidity. My argument is that no one has a right to heap the collateral effects of that stupidity on others. I'm not talking about an act of God, or catastrophic illness through no fault of their own. Smoking, like obesity and homosexuality, are life choices. Assume the risks as well as the outcome. "…hospitals will deny them some health care if they cannot afford it, and the hospital itself will pay for a lot of the bill. We only get left with a portion to pay." Wrong. We get stuck with the whole bill. When hospitals eat an uncollected bill, that cost gets spread around to the paying customer and insurance companies (raising premiums or reducing payouts). "This, I think, is simply one of the downsides to living in a free country. This country was founded on the idea that everyone would be able to persue life, liberty and happiness, and there is nothing legally wrong with smoking." Again, there is nothing legally wrong with smoking unless the legislature outlaws or restricts it. I would like to live in a smoke free world. I consider that as a right. I would like not to be burdened by health costs generated by people who fail to take care of themselves. That is another right. "Therefore if smoking makes you happy, then you are free do smoke." Fornication makes me happy. Do I have a right to do that in public? "The government cannot deny anyone this right, and therefore smoking is a right. So yes, I do consider people acting of their own free will on things that are not expressly prohibited by law…." That last part is a quote from me. It assumes certain activities can be prohibited by law. So government can deny it. "When it comes to the annoyance issue, I guess all I have to say is get over it. There is always that place that doesn't allow smoking. So what if non-smokers are the ones moving around? They are the ones choosing not to exercise a right." Your logic assumes smoking is a right, which it clearly is not. Are you challenging the authority of the legislature to enact no-smoking laws? It is time for smokers to feel like second class citizens and told to go elsewhere if "you" don't like it. "It is a good choice and it will save you your body, but we are the ones choosing not to exercise a right…" Do I have a right not to pay higher taxes to cover smokers and other foolish people engaging in activities of their own free will? "Besides, most restaurants have non-smoking sections anyway, so at generally only involves moving from one bench to the next, which is not that hard." Moving from one bench to another does not reduce atmospheric second hand smoke. Bars cannot keep smoke from non-smokers. It's impossible. "…it would be removing one of our foundational decisions, that is, the persuit of happiness…. Pursuit of happiness is too broad to allow for specific activity. It would make me happy to strangle Michael Moore, the fat communist anti-American movie producer, but I can't because there are laws against that. "If you take away that right, you take away a pert of the freedom this country was founded on." But you opened up a whole new set of rights for non-smokers. (I'm not conceding it's a right). "The right to smoke is kind of like the right to free speech. You can do it almost anywhere, but it is common courtesy not to do it in some places." What? Free speech is protected in the Bill of Rights. Smoking is not. "I would say that smokers are generally pretty good about where they smoke…" An utterly false statement. Smokers are rude and are even offended and angered if a non-smoker complains. "If it bothers you, stay away from it. In most cases, it is not the health of non-smokers in jeopardy. If it is, go somewhere where smoking is not allowed." Fortunately, it is now the smokers who must go somewhere else.