Smokey the Bar...

I suppose that as a non-smoker, I should be happy that the state legislature is considering a statewide smoking ban in all enclosed public places this session. It sounds like a good idea if you say it really fast.

But there are at least a couple of problems with such a plan. For one, the legislature has a hard time distinguishing between publicly owned places that are open to the public, and privately owned places that are open to the public. I don't think the legislature has any plans for limiting the ban to publicly owned places.

Given my wife's culinary abilities, and my aversion to alcohol, I'm pretty sure that we won't be opening a restaurant or bar anytime soon. If we did, I certainly would make it a non-smoking establishment. And I would be none to happy if the government came in and told me that I had to allow smoking in all or part of my restaurant, in order to help bolster the declining tax revenue from tobacco sales.

But that's how things work when we let the government control things we ought to control ourselves