*IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT*

If you live in the West Lafayette area and also oppose the recently passed smoking ban I encourage you to voice your opinion. Kris Knigga has set up an e-mailer for those who want to declare their opposition to the common council. This is his letter (he has a form that automatically fills in the blanks):

From: (your name here)
To: The West Lafayette City Government
Subject: About the smoking ban...

Dear (recipient name),

As a member of the West Lafayette Community, I would like you to know that I do not support the recently passed smoking ban.

I believe that dining in a restaurant or visiting a bar is not a fundamental right, but a luxury. People in our community can choose where they will dine or with whom they want to do business. If a non-smoker decides they don't wish to patronize an establishment that allows smoking, they are free to do so. This makes the smoking ban solely a matter of convenience, not of necessity.

In the same way, no employee is forced to work at an establishment that allows smoking. As Americans, we have the freedom to choose for whom we will work and can choose to work in a smoke-free environment if we do not appreciate second-hand smoke. In fact, Tippecanoe County's largest employer, Purdue University, chooses to be smoke free, along with many other businesses. So again, this is a matter of convenience, not of necessity.

Freedom of Association is an inherent right that Americans hold, guaranteed to us by the Bill of Rights. To deny business owners and smokers the choice of participating in a legal activity goes against the very spirit of our nation. We must uphold the principle that it is never acceptable to deny rights to one group of people simply for the convenience of another group.

Furthermore, I believe that the economic harm caused by this ban will outweigh any good that might come of it. I believe that this ban will result in restaurant and bar business being shifted to Lafayette, causing a loss of business in our city. West Lafayette already has smoke-free establishments for those who choose to visit them. By forcing all restaurants and bars to be smoke-free you take away an advantage that smoke-free establishments hold with non-smokers.

For all of these reasons and more, I ask you to do what you can to repeal the smoking ban before it can take effect.

Thank you for your consideration,

(your name here)
(your street address here)
West Lafayette, IN

The first three paragraphs I agree with entirely. While I still agree with the next two paragraphs, I think they miss the key issue here (which is of rights), though they're probably the arguments that will be the most convincing. For example, Kris argues freedom of association. Though he's correct, I'd say the more pertinent argument is the right to property, because of which one is able to have freedom of association. (Freedom to associate comes from the right to own property and dispense with it as one chooses). By dictating how an individual may or may not run their business the government of West Lafayette is violating the citizens' right to do with their property as they see fit.

I understand, though, Kris is directing his letter to the most pressing of the fallacious arguments used by those in favour of the ban.