Where Does it Stop?

If you were to make a long list of things that people shouldn't do, smoking would probably be on it. There really isn't anyone left who thinks smoking is a good thing, including those who smoke. That's part of the reason bans on smoking in restaurants and other public places have been passed in so many places.

So it's not very surprising that there's a bill in the Utah legislature that aims to make the jump from prohibiting people from smoking in public places, to prohibiting them from smoking within the confines of their own personal property. That bill is HB0013, which would prohibit adults from smoking in a car when a child under the age of 16 is present.

We all know that exposure to smoke is bad for children. But that doesn't justify the overreach of this bill, which aims to tell people what they can't do in the confines of their own property. Being inside one's vehicle is much like being inside one's own home. Where will this desire to reach into people's personal lives and tell them what to do - however good it may be - stop?

If the state can get away with making it illegal to smoke in a person's own vehicle with their own children or their friends present, what's to stop it from doing the same in people's homes? Far more secondhand exposure occurs in homes than in cars. 

What about some things that are closer to home for most Utahns? Watching too much TV, playing too many video games, eating Cheetos, spending too much time texting, and not getting enough sleep are also bad for children. Should the government make laws to regulate these behaviors as well?

Isn't it possible that this camel's nose could make way for the rest of him? I contend that it's likely, given the current political climate, in which our freedoms are disappearing faster than a late spring snow. 

Does anyone want young people to be in cars where adults are smoking? No, of course not. But does anyone want the state of Utah to be able to tell individuals what to do with their own property and children? No. The latter is the greater threat. While smoking in the presence of children is bad, it's a much greater offense to force someone not to do it. 

Catharine Littlefield Greene

Catharine Littlefield Greene, wife of the great Revolutionary War 
General Nathanael Greene, said, "We all know that anything which is evil and harmful when done outside government is equally evil and harmful when done through government." 

That is to say, if it's wrong for an individual to demand $45 from his neighbor when she smokes in the car with her kids, it is just as wrong for a government to do so.

There is virtually no freedom that can't be legislated away by a desire to protect people from themselves and their bad choices. This is even more true when applied to the desire to protect other people's children from their parents' bad choices.

We have to be willing to protect others' freedoms to do what we feel is stupid or bad, if we want our freedoms respected and protected. This bill should be opposed. It is the camel's nose.

Further Information:

The text of HB0013

http://le.utah.gov/~2013/bills/hbillint/HB0013.pdf

Salt Lake Tribune: 'Utah bill to ban smoking in cars with kids gets committee approval'

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/55774328-90/smoking-utah-cars-bill.html.csp

Deseret News: 'Representative again hopes bill will snuff out smoking in cars with children'

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865572397/Representative-again-hopes-bill-will-snuff-out-smoking-in-cars-with-children.html

What To Do:

Contact your state representative and state senator and ask them to vote NO on this bill. All it takes is a short couple of sentences. Include the bill name and number, HB0013, 'Protection of Children Riding in Motor Vehicles.' Find your representative here.

Share this blog with others and tell them to do the same. This is the camel's nose.