Letter of the day: Smoking ban in cars proves that common sense is DOA

Last update: March 3, 2009 - 6:35 PM

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A state Senate committee has OK'd a bill that would ban smoking in one's own vehicle if children are present. Have we Americans completely lost our ability to make competent decisions? The government's job is not to make every decision about every factor of our lives for us. DFL Sen. Sandy Pappas says the bill's purpose is not to "catch parents in the act" but to educate people about the potential health hazards. But the purpose of laws is not to educate; the purpose of laws is to ensure order in society and impose penalties if these laws are broken. A doctor and an 11-year-old asthma sufferer testified that children are especially susceptible to secondhand smoke in a car. As a former smoker and as a father, I can say that I never smoked in my home. I did, however, smoke in my car. What was my reasoning? In the car, with the window rolled at least partially down, most of the smoke is sucked out the window while the car is moving. Helmet laws, seat belt laws, laws regarding cell phone use in your car ... as silly as it sounds, the government is well on its way to trying to control every aspect of our lives. What's next? Will we be required to wear a certain type of shoe that is less likely to slip off of the brake pedal? Come on, America. Let's make common sense common again, instead of having the government do our thinking for us.

JASON CROSBY, PLYMOUTH

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