Chad’s Morning Brief: It’s Time to Show Up and Fight the Lubbock City Council on the Possible Smoking Ban

You can fight big government right here in Lubbock. On Thursday at 5:15pm at Lubbock City Hall. All you have to do is show up and speak. Here is your Morning Brief for October 21, 2014.

Private Property Rights vs. Big Government

At 5:15pm on Thursday the Lubbock City Council will meet. On their agenda near the end of the meeting is a new city ordinance that would ban smoking in all bars, restaurants, bingo halls, and meeting venues. The ban would expand to your car or truck if you are going through the line at the bank or in a drive-thru of your favorite fast food spot. The ban on smoking would not only include cigarettes, but also cigars, dip, snuff, pipes, and yes even vapor and e-cigarettes.

This Thursday evening, the Lubbock City Council could vote and approve this far reaching liberal ordinance.

It's time for you to show up and tell the Lubbock City Council to stop this intrusion into people's private property. If you don't show up or you do not call your councilman, your voice will not be heard. This is how you stop future government actions, by standing up early and being loud.

If you haven't read the ordinance, you should. You can find it here and it starts on page 497.

Mayor Glen Robertson and Councilmembers Griffith and Gibson are against the proposed ordinance. Councilmembers Joy and Price are for the ordinance which leaves Hernandez and Gerlt publically undecided, though Gerlt has hinted that he supports a ban.

Members of the liberal group known as the West Texas Smoke Free Coalition, headed by Matthew Harris are pushing this ban. They claim they are looking out for employees, though employees chose to work in bars and they could choose to leave. On their Facebook page, they have argued that employees shouldn't have to die or get sick in order to earn a paycheck. What this is really about though is control. The liberal left want to control your life and how you make money. If they don't agree with you, they attack you. They believe they and liberal government know what is best for you. The left wants you to believe in government control and they want to hand over all control to the government.

Smoking bans are where it all begins. Then government on the local level will decide what else is best for you. Maybe they will ban trans-fats, maybe they will ban plastic bags, maybe they will ban large cokes. Or maybe they will pass laws forbidding a baker to deny service to a wedding that goes against their religious beliefs. Once government and the left get in, they don't stop.

It is wrong to look at the current battle here in Lubbock as smokers vs. non-smokers. The battle here is between small government and big government. It's between those who support private property rights, and those who don't.

Take a look at this proposed smoking ban that the West Texas Smoke Free Coalition lead by Matthew Harris worked on. We were told that they weren't going after e-cigarettes and vapors. They are. We were told they weren't going after patios, but for many, it seems they are. They said they weren't going for your private property, but in some cases, they are wanting to ban people from behavior in their own car. Just look below.

Section 6 is where they get into your cars. This section tells me that the city would now regulate what you do in your car if you are in a drive-thru, a bank line, or having to deal with parking at concerts. This provision leaves the door open for government to come into your car or homes even more in the future.

Speaking of homes, if someone is delivering a TV or furniture to your home, or doing repair work, does that mean your home must go smoke free?

The current ordinance works. Many bars and most places to eat are non-smoking, but not because government told them to go smoke free. Business owners should be allowed to decide for themselves whether or not they want to allow smoking and we should respect their rights. No one has a right to eat or drink wherever they want. Let's allow people to vote with their money and allow business owners to decide their own future.

It's time for citizens to stand against this ban and big government all together. I encourage you to show up at Lubbock City Hall Thursday night at 5:15pm and to sign up to speak. Make your voice heard. I can promise you that the leftist and the pro-government ban people will show up and will speak.

See you Thursday.