Posted: 8/7/2008 10:07:25 AM EDT
| I am doing a research paper on smoking ban laws. I am not a smoker and hate the habit, but I believe that owners of restaurant's should be able to choose whether they allow smoking or not, and consumers should choose not to go to these places if they don't like it. I believe this is an instance of Americans voting away their rights and freedoms. Could anyone think of similar instances of America voting away their freedoms? I am also trying to find out if any of the states/city's that have enacted these laws have had luck repelling them, and for what reason? Any help would be appreciated; I have found myself at a dead end. Links to resources would be awesome. |
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Aside from prohibition, the gun bans in Chicago, DC, San Francisco, etc. would be obvious examples of bans that were either repealed or found to be unconstitutional. As a result of the recent DC v. Heller Supreme Court decision, several Chicago suburbs are in the process of dropping their gun bans, and DC is being forced to drastically scale back the extent of its ban. The Federal Assault Weapons Ban is another example - Essentially, congress "repealed" this ban by not making any serious effort to renew it before it expired. |
You could write a much better paper illustrating how smoking bans have cut smoking rates in states and cities where they've been enacted. Because that is what has happened. An example of Americans voting their rights or power away? I think of how anti-gerrymandering initiatives have been defeated at the polls. Given a choice to ban the practice of gerrymandering voting districts, idiot voters voted to retain them. |
Thanks for the help, I am doing some research on anti-gerrymandering. I don't want to do a paper about how the laws have lowered smoking rates beacause I think that limiting our freedoms is a much bigger issue than smoking. I have no problem with banning smoking in public places because everyones tax dollars pay for them, but when you make laws saying what a person can do with their own property, I have a problem with that. I'll give you an example out of my paper. To put it into context, image you invite me to your house for dinner. I find that I don’t like the smell of your perfume; on top of that I am allergic to it, so it is bad for my health. Instead of not going to your house for dinner anymore, I decide I will make a law banning your perfume from all houses in the state. Now I can eat at your house and not be bothered by your stinky perfume. There is nothing different about the scenario I gave and that of the smoking ban, the only difference is in the number of people that it bothers. Would it be ok to vote in anti-gun laws that take our guns if it cut the number of stolen firearms, that are used in crimes? (umm - HELL NO) The point of the paper is to make people aware that just because we are a democracy doesn't mean we can't vote ourselves into the likes of China and North Korea(maybe a little extreme). With more and more liberals in todays society what happens when/if the balance changes? Liberals want laws, laws and more laws, if we give them an inch they will take a mile. Note: I am all for people arguing my topic, and my opinions because this will make my paper better, and maybe give me some ideas of where I might be right or wrong. Thanks |