This week Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) signed a law banning smoking in outdoor public spaces in New York City. In a city famous for pint-sized apartments, laws that affect behavior in valuable public space will not go down without a fight.
Starting in May, there will be no smoking in any car-banned area of New York City, including Times Square, Central Park and Coney Island. Bloomberg, a “passionate anti-smoker,” fully supports this measure.
Feedback on New York’s ban is mixed. One suburban St. Louis citizen filed suit this weekend calling his city’s ban unlawful because it denies his constitutional rights.
Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. once noted that one man’s right to swing his arm stops at another man’s nose. Smoking indoors is like swinging our arms dangerously close to neighboring noses. But outdoors? There’s much more space in parks for nonsmokers to move away from those who choose to light up.
Interestingly, the New York Times — liberal-leaning, and largely supportive of the “positive rights” mentality behind a smoking ban — came out strongly against the smoking ban:
This is a very strong step into nanny-statism, comparable to the salt ban New York City discussed last year, and the mandated nutrition information posted on every single New York eatery.
When even the New York Times feels the legislature has gone too far into nanny-statism, perhaps it is time to return control over individual decision making to individuals.
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