Joe runs a restaurant. Anyone has the right to go into that restaurant and order a meal. That's the law. Likewise, Joe has the right to deny service to anyone who is disruptive or violates the stated policies of his place: if he has a sign up that says "No Shirt - No Shoes - No Service", he can deny service to someone who comes in without a shirt on.
Absent any laws on the subject,Joe also has the right to allow - or forbid - smoking in his place. People can patronize that establishment - or not - as they chose. Someone like my daughter, who is allergic to tobacco, can choose not to exercise her right to frequent that place. Now, if someone chooses to go in there, even if they are allergic, and know what the policies are, and still complain, they are, at the very least, a jerk. Likewise, people who go into a non-smoking place and light up is not only a jerk, they can be booted out. That's the way it should be.
Ideally, everyone would be considerate of other folks. If I had my way, there would be public places - restaurants and bars, in particular - where people who choose to smoke could congregate, as well as establishments for people who choose not to do so. Unfortunately, we seem to be going through a phase where way too many people are concerned about their own rights, and way too few people are being considerate of the rights of others. They're not talking to each other, or listening to each other - they're just yelling at each other.
Tobacco users are getting the short end of the stick, right now - but let's be honest,folks, for too long non-smokers were the ones getting the shaft. I hope we get into a situation where there's some balance, but I am afraid I won't see it in my lifetime.
(And, yeah, saying that you can't smoke in a smoke shop is just plain silly.)
Absent any laws on the subject,Joe also has the right to allow - or forbid - smoking in his place. People can patronize that establishment - or not - as they chose. Someone like my daughter, who is allergic to tobacco, can choose not to exercise her right to frequent that place. Now, if someone chooses to go in there, even if they are allergic, and know what the policies are, and still complain, they are, at the very least, a jerk. Likewise, people who go into a non-smoking place and light up is not only a jerk, they can be booted out. That's the way it should be.
Ideally, everyone would be considerate of other folks. If I had my way, there would be public places - restaurants and bars, in particular - where people who choose to smoke could congregate, as well as establishments for people who choose not to do so. Unfortunately, we seem to be going through a phase where way too many people are concerned about their own rights, and way too few people are being considerate of the rights of others. They're not talking to each other, or listening to each other - they're just yelling at each other.
Tobacco users are getting the short end of the stick, right now - but let's be honest,folks, for too long non-smokers were the ones getting the shaft. I hope we get into a situation where there's some balance, but I am afraid I won't see it in my lifetime.
(And, yeah, saying that you can't smoke in a smoke shop is just plain silly.)
:
