Up in Smoke

By now everyone has heard... starting Friday, no one will be allowed to smoke on city property either inside or outside (ABQ Journal - Subscription Required). We guess this has been coming for a long time now. The dangers of second hand smoke are well known and every politician is trying to one-up every other politician and grab some headlines. According to the Journal article, the mayor isn't even trying to hide the fact that the timing coincides with the new state smoking prohibition for restaurants and bars.

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A quick disclaimer here... we're not a smoker. So this post is not about protecting our tobacco habit. We are however, concerned with individual liberty and personal responsibility - commodities that are increasingly in short supply.
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Freedom is the concept behind the founding of our country. The history of the United States is replete with examples of men and women giving their lives to protect that simple concept. We are the beneficiaries of their sacrifice.

Freedom is not a concept that stands alone. Responsibility is freedom's inseparable companion. When a person's responsibility is taken away, so too is their liberty.

Mayor Chavez unilaterally imposed a smoking ban on all city properties including outside spaces in order "to give you the initiative to quit." Is this really the mayor's responsibility and if it is whose freedom has he appropriated?

There's no doubt that the city is growing in power and authority. The mayor and the council continue to insert themselves into our everyday lives, assuming more and more responsibility. HEART Ordinances, cell phone bans, smoking bans, Big Box Ordinances, Red Light Scam-eras, even "Living Wage" laws all transfer responsibility from the individual to the state.

Our concern is simple... how much responsibility do we really want to place in government hands? How much of our freedom do we want to see go up in smoke?