Another inept Kansas smoking analogy

on

In today’s Wichita Eagle, Wichita busybody Charlie Claycomb makes another inept analogy in an attempt to press his anti-smoking agenda statewide.

A while back he tried to compare a smoking section in a restaurant with a urinating section in a swimming pool. This is ridiculous to the extreme, as I show in the post It’s Not the Same as Pee In the Swimming Pool.

Now in today’s letter in the Eagle, Claycomb says that although the United States Constitution gives us the right to bear arms, since that right is heavily regulated, government has license to regulate smoking, as smoking isn’t mentioned at all in the Constitution.

Here’s why this is another ridiculous analogy (without conceding the regulations on arms are justified or effective): A person in, say, a bar that’s carrying a gun can’t be detected as you enter the bar. You just can’t tell upon entering an establishment whether someone has a concealed gun and intends to cause harm to patrons. This is the case even if there’s a law prohibiting carrying guns into bars, and even if the bar has a “no guns” sign.

But you sure can tell if people are smoking.

Smoking ban supporters might argue that since there may be smoking in some establishments, my rights are being infringed since I can’t patronize those places without exposing myself to harmful smoke.

That’s true. But there’s definitely no right in the Constitution to be able to go everywhere you want on your own terms.

By the way, did you know that Claycomb is treasurer for Wichita city council candidate Janet Miller? Expect more nonsense like this if she is elected.

“Mankind are greater gainers by suffering each other to live as seems good to themselves, than by compelling each to live as seems good to the rest.” — John Stuart Mill

“Whenever we depart from voluntary cooperation and try to do good by using force, the bad moral value of force triumphs over good intentions.” — Milton Friedman

Comments

2 responses to “Another inept Kansas smoking analogy”

  1. Mr Claycomb needs to come and speak with those of us that have spent $1000’s of $ remodeling our restaurants this past year to comply with the City of Wichita smoking ordinance. I am personally against smoking, but I do not believe I need Janet Miller, or the City Council or her husband, Legislator Dillman telling me or anybody else that we can’t meet friends at a smoking restaurant for dinner. And just for the record if they don’t want smoking they should have the guts to outlaw smoking everywhere, and the sale of cigarettes. They know their tenure in office would be limited to the next election. We do not need any more liberal politicians encroaching on our personal freedoms in the name “for our own good”.

  2. keith

    Mr. Claycomb: “Make self righteouness be still”

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.