What's next, ban Packer fans from public places?

The Health Care and Human Services Finance Committee of the State House of Representatives moved HF305 one step closer to passing by a vote today of 14-7. HF305 called "The Freedom to Breath Act of 2007" calls to abolish smoking in public places. The bill should be titled "The Freedom of the Government to Regulate Peoples Rights Act of 2007."

I am a non smoker who enjoys eating in a smoke free area. However, since when did it become the Governments right to stop a private business from allowing a legal activity. I know that this issue keeps coming up over and over again. However, when the main argument for this bill is that an employee has the right to breath clean air, I start to wonder. If you have every driven or walked by a restaurant on a Friday or Saturday night, you will witness people standing outside smoking. I'm not just talking about the patrons of the restaurant, but the employees. I have worked in the food industry in the past, and the most common thing people did on their breaks was to smoke. This is not a generalization, this is fact. I witness this same practice to this day when going to a large number of restaurants. Let's get serious people, this has nothing to do with an employee's rights and everything to do with the government controlling yet another aspect of peoples rights.

It has been said that a person has the right to go out and buy a pack of cigarettes and smoke them, but someone else has the right to not breath in their smoke. I for one do not want the government to be the one to state which ones right is stronger. That is exactly what the government is doing by passing this bill. They are implying that a persons right not to breath smoke is greater than someones right to breath smoke.

What's next the government will say that someone who cheers for the Vikings has more rights than someone who cheers for the Packers, therefore banning people from cheering for the Packers in a public place. Understand I find it unhealthy to my eyesight to see someone in green and yellow cheering on the Packers. However, please legislators stay out of a person/business owner's private life.

I am very disappointed, but not surprised by the DFLers who support this bill. I am in shock of the Republicans that support this bill, as I think they are forgetting that we want less government regulations not more.

I do renew my motion to ban Packer Fans from cheering in Public Places.