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A ban on smoking in public places is not about health issues. It is about the rights of the American public. It is about money.

The question that comes to my mind is what are public places? Is it a privately owned business? Is a public place out in the open air?

If the United States Government thinks it can somehow protect its citizens from the dangers of secondhand smoke by banning smoking on public streets or other open air arenas, so be it.

But, when the government wants to come along and tell me I cannot have smoking in my privately owned business, then they are stepping over the line, into my personal rights as a business owner.

If the United States Government wants to force me to hang a sign on the door announcing to the world at large that this is a smoking establishment, THEN they would be within their rights to do so.

If an employee does not want to work for me because we smoke in our business, let that employee go next door where they do not smoke. If a patron does not want to patronize an establishment where smokers are, let that patron read the sign on the door and move on.

This is not a question of health; this is a question of our rights as Americans slowly dwindling away. I do not need the government looking out for my health. I need the government to look out for my rights as an American.

Look at the front door of any quick stop store in the country and you will likely see a warning sign on the door; Microwave oven in use. Why? Because they are looking out for the health of the American public.

Some people have serious allergies to cigarette smoke. I think it is fair to warn that person not to enter a business where they might be exposed to cigarette smoke if they enter.

How does this become a question of money?

There is no reason why one business cannot choose to offer service to their smoking clientele while another business chooses to have a non-smoking establishment, except one. Money.

If Joe Blow has a bar and his clientele are allowed to smoke and Mary Contrary has a bar where the clientele are not allowed to smoke, which bar do you think they will choose to patronize?

I know plenty of people who drink but do not smoke. I also know people who only smoke when they drink. Mary Contrary does not want to lose patrons to the smoking establishment. So what does she do? She jumps on the bandwagon for rights of the non-smoker. She does not care two cents about the rights of non-smokers. She cares about her bank account. Mary Contrary is afraid she will lose too much business to the smoking establishment.

Mary Contrary is not interested in free enterprise. Mary Contrary wants to run her business as she wishes and in the process run mine too.

If this were a question of health and not a question of money, it would not be an issue. Business owners would be told to place a warning sign outside of their business and that would be the end of it.

If this were an issue of health, smoking would be illegal, period. This is about our rights as Americans and this is about money. Isn't it always?

Learn more about this author, Phyllis Cunningham.
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