Amendments to smoking ban struck down.

At the start of the year, I thought for sure that the smoking ordinance would pass. I think now that it might not pass. Three different amendments were proposed that would allow certain establishments to be exempt. These amendments were all struck down. There will be no exceptions made for private clubs, restarants with partitions, or VFW halls.

Either they will all be allowed make the decision on whether or not to permit smoking, or none of them will. In the end, there are no shades of gray in this debate. Either a business belongs to its owner, or it doesn't. Either time, toil, and treasure spent on an enterprise gives one the right to determine its direction, or politicians with no stake or stock in a company can dictate policies on a whim.

There are no exceptions made with liberty, either. Either you own your property or you don't. Either you are free, or you are not.