Bill Sova

[Chuckie]

Anyone who doesn't think there are people bent on eroding your rights a little at a time need to look no further than Pueblo. We recently had a discussion about the smoking ban in restaraunts and bars. Now, Bill Sova wants to ban smoking in cars that have children under 16 in them. What's next? A bill to band smoking in our own homes? Don't laugh. That's already been proposed in California.

While I don't think smoking around children is a good idea anyway. (I'm a non-smoker) This gradual invasion of privacy is scary. As the law stands right now the police need a search warrant to search a vehichle. But this bill will allow them to pull a citizen over and vehichle searched for engaging in a LEGAL activity.

It looks to me like Mr. Sova wants to ban smoking altogether. He knows he never get that accomplished by making tobacco illegal so he intends to pass incremental laws until that is accomplished. I expect the next law to be that any smoking in public be banned, including outdoors. Next, smoking around children, even in your own home, will be the next proposal. Then, smoking in any enclosed place will be banned to make smoking in your own home illegal whether children are present or not. While smoking will technically remain legal, with all the regulations it may as well not be.

This whole thing looks like a page out of the Clinton playbook. Propose whatever bill you want. Say it's "For the children" and it's sure to pass.


If you think the above senario is too far fetched to ever happen needs to look at all the incremental restrictions that have been put on 2nd ammendment rights. If those things happened all at once the nation would be in an uproar. A little at a time and no one seems to notice. Guns are still legal, but with so many regulations they may as well not be. Your right to privacy is next.

Mr. Sova, the government is not our mommy. We don't need to be babied. Real Americans take care of themselves and their families. We don't need you to do it for us.

[large]

Chuckie; We have to remember this man when he runs for re-Election . . He not only needs to be "Un-elected" but barred from EVER holding Public office again!

He will still be entitled to freedom of speech, but not from a public pulpit.

[large]

Back to the intelligence of the average voter . . . I just checked the poll the Chieftain did yesterday, asking whether people thought a ban on smoking in cars with children as passengers should be made law . .

54% of them said Yes! . . . Most of the people who voted, I'm sure, would be the first to get in line and protest about their rights being abused were the City Council to outlaw the eating of French Fries in public for health reasons!

Of course, chances are, when asked, a large portion of that 54% would just reply with a semi-intelligent "Baaaahhh", somewhat sheepishly, I'd bet!

[Chuckie]

It would be interesting to see how those same people would answer that question if it had been worded differently. How about this?

Would you support a bill proposing that the general public be be allowed to vote on the methods you personally use to raise, take care of, and discipline your children?

I just might vote for that one myself :twisted: I've seen plenty of kids throwing tantrums in the checkout line at stores that I'd love to vote a good swat on the behind to. Just kidding. Cause who knows what my kids would get voted into. :?

[ogar]

Our governments seem to have a long history of trying to protect us from the things that will result in death and dementia. It's only by some quirck of history that smoking has persisted as a right and privalege. But we have taken away the rights of certain self prescribed medications, cocaine, teenage drinking (old enough to die for our country but not old enough to have a beer?), use of DDT in our gardens, and carcinogens on our foods. I'd say that government is on the path to see that smoking follows the same course. Aside from that, second hand smoke around children is very bad and they are very innocent. This is wrong and if they want to make that a law, so be it.

In my life and I think in our government, smoking bans are pretty small items. I would hope that if that's the only issue against My Sova, that you might reconsider things in a bigger picture

[large]

Hmmm, lessee . . Teenage drinking has "Always" been against the law . . but, recent surveys (in our own paper here) show that a large percentage of teens, 14 and older, drink alcoholic beverages. And yes, Cocaine is illegal, however it's availability is still there for anyone who would choose to use it. It's just a matter of finding the dealer. Which doesn't seem to be a great challenge in this or any other city in America. That goes pretty much the same for the rest of the cornucopia of illegal drugs that people choose to ruin their lives with.

Now I'm not going down the "Legalization of Drugs" road, here, but the public spends very large sums of money interdicting and enforcing the drug laws . . . Some of which I would question . . BUT . . .

Enfocement of these "Mommy" laws? We have been once again lied to by our leaders . . When Sova, Schilling and Occhiato debated and voted for the "Non Smoking" Law, they told us that it would be the Health Department that would enforce our new "Health Law" . .And the Health Dept. said as much, after all, it was they, who pleaded with the Council and the public to make and pass this law . . Any citations from the Health Dept ? . . Not as far as I know . . The Pueblo Police get to answer the call that someone is smoking in a public place . .

AND, if we were to be so stupid as to vote the "Smoking in a car with Children" law into place, are we going to put light bars on the Health Department Vehicles and empower them to stop the offenders? . . probably not, we'd just let the Cops have something else to do.

[CalicoKate]

I think Dr. Sova's heart is in the right place--protecting innocent lungs from the dangers of second hand smoke. But proposing a law to prohibit people from smoking in the car the parents bought, buy gas (and pay taxes) for, and hopefully pay exorbitant insurance prices for is going beyond Big Brother.

On the other hand, I have witnessed plenty of parents who drive their cars with child(ren) unrestrained in child car seats, standing at the door and hanging out the window. If they cared about these children at all, they would have them securely seated in car seats. To expect these parents to care about if second hand smoke is endangering the little ones is quite honestly a moot point. :cry: