As Governor of Oregon, I will initiate legislation which would outlaw second-hand tobacco smoke which invades any non-consenting individual’s air space within a reasonable distance as defined by law. This is the grave crime of “Invasion” in Libertarian Law, and it must be put a stop to.
One of the most despicable acts I can think of is to invade another persons body with refuse from tobacco smoke, the most addictive drug on the list of Dr. Benowitz’s scale of addiction. (Dr. Benowitz served at the University of California, San Francisco.) When the crime is against a child or adolescent, it is doubly despicable, and deserves jail time.
I would make smoking tobacco within 10 feet of a child a Class A Misdemeanor with mandatory jail time, perhaps a week in solitary. This would soon put a stop to this crime against children.
Smoking tobacco within 50-100 feet of another person, depending upon their age and the distance, should carry penalties of Class B and Class C Misdemeanors, with 72 hours and 24 hours the respective mandatory jail terms. Repeat-offending scofflaws should be dealt with more harshly. I believe such a program would soon end the anti-Libertarian scourge of permitting our citizens and children to be poisoned by tobacco smoke without a peep of protest from the Governor, and the “progressive” legislature. A Doctor should know better, and use his bully pulpit to try to make smoking tobacco socially unacceptable. He should point out tobacco smoking is a serious health problem equal to heroin and meth addiction or morbid obesity. What the Governor says in his speeches carries a lot of weight, especially with children, and an admired Governor, who publically preached the virtues of tobacco abstention, would save many children from eventually being cursed with this monkey on their backs.
However, let’s remember that the Liberty to Choose is of the highest moral value to the Libertarian, even if the morality of what is done with that Liberty is dubious. Self-destructive behavior, like smoking tobacco, may be an immoral act against the self, but it is not a crime in law if the smoke is only confined to the smoker. Vice is not a crime, and should not be made illegal.
Additionally, as Governor, I would set aside areas for smokers in State Parks and other areas, were tobacco addicts could dose themselves, since quitting tobacco is one of the hardest addictions to overcome, and we should have compassion, and not condemnation, for the person who either is trying to quit, or who has decided he wants to keep smoking cigarettes, no matter what anyone says. I would also urge counties and municipalities to follow suit and set up “Compassion Areas” for tobacco addicts. These areas would be well-segregated in distance from the non-smoking public, and warning signs would be posted.
End the silence on this anti-Libertarian crime of “invasion” with a poison, by voting for me for Governor of Oregon, and thus bringing this very vital issue to the foreground.
Let’s stop mollycoddling tobacco addicts, and defend the children from this assault on their health and their bodies by irresponsible and callous adults. Children can’t vote; we can.
Libertarians can check my name on the Libertarian Primary ballot. Democrats, Republicans, and Communists can write me in.
Paul Grad, paulgrad4governor.wordpress.com
Paul Grad for Governor 