JPF Home Page Forums General Messages General Message Forum Smoking in Clubs: Has it affected artists/performers?

Aha! I get it.. it's April Fools Day and that's why Patty is acting like she doesn't "get it." I knew it had to be something like that.. she couldn't be that thick headed.

Either the government can regulate safety concerns in businesses or it can't. Pick one or the other and make your argument. If you allow them to regulate fire saftey, food safety, blood alchohol levels, cleanliness, noise ordinances, liquor licenses, and all the rest on publicly accessible property, then smoking is no different. You won't address that obvious point directly because it kills your entire argument. There IS a difference between public establishments for business and PRIVATE property. If anyone can walk in off the street, it is a PUBLIC PLACE. Your home is not a public place. A Bar IS a public place unless they follow a set of rules and have a private membership. I am sure in towns where there are smoking bans, there are already PRIVATE bars for smokers. Chi Chi's and Bennigans don't qualify. How people are confusing public businesses with private clubs/property is laughable. It's arguing (incorrectly) semantics to try and make a weak argument.

What is even sillier about Patty's entire conspiracy theory paranoia is that the party in power right now is PRO SMOKING and PRO TOBACCO. It's the Democrats who have been fighting smoking but they aren't in power. The Republicans have a long history of supporting cigarette companies. They take HUGE payoffs from them every election cycle. And trying to make some bizarre connection to early presidents who were Tobacco farmers and attempt to make that justify smoking is absurd. Did you forget that many of those "tobacco" farmers were ALSO slave owners? Where's your relevance now?

You also keep saying "smoking is legal." It seems you have an amazing grasp of the obvious. But that has no relevance to this topic. Many legal things are restricted or put under guidelines in life every day. Drive a car is legal in designated places, but not in places where it's determined to be dangerous to people. Smoking is the same. It's legal. Soon, if the trends continue, it will be restricted to certain places where it won't be dangerous to people.

Also, once and for all, people ARE Forced to be in businesses where there is currently smoking.. they are called EMPLOYEES. That is who the law is meant to protect in the first place, NOT the general public. (I've said that previously, but obviously someone wasn't reading). The fact that the general public gets to avoid the smoke is simply a fringe benefit.

Brian

If government