The Nebraska Unicameral is considering a bill that would criminalize smoking in a vehicle with a child in the car. As stated on the KOLN tv website, "The bill, introduced by Sen. Gwen Howard of Omaha, would allow law enforcement to ticket someone smoking in a vehicle if a child 16 or younger were inside. The fine would be between $50 and $150, but would not cause points to be added to the person's driving record." Smoking around kids has always been one of my pet peeves. I hate it. It's disgusting. As someone who cannot stand to be around cigarette smoke, I can't imagine smoking anywhere near my child.
We've all seen them, know them, or are them: that person with the window open just a crack, smoking in the car with the kid in the car seat in the back. I know parents who don't object to smoking around their children and often do it themselves. The problem I have with this bill is that I feel it's a little too intrusive. I hate it when Republicans use the "slippery slope" argument against, for example, gay marriage. What's next, legalizing sex with dogs? As if.
But even I am struggling with where this intrusion would end. Ticketing parents rolling through the McDonald's drive thru for filling their kids with fatty McNuggets?? Ticketing parents who let their kids ride a bike without a helmet?? For goodness sake, I can't even spank my kid in Target without worrying if someone will rat me out to authorities. Some things really should be left in the hands of a parent. No matter how detestable it is, smoking around their kids is a choice parents should make, not the legislature. Until I hear a better argument (if you have one please post it) I say this legislation is bunk.
Please, please, please don't smoke around your kids. Be an adult and choose to wait until a better time and place to light up. Freeze your ass off, I don't care. Just leave junior out of it.
2 comments:
I don't know if I totally agree I seen this kid in the back seat of on the off ramp and her mom was just puffing away on a cig and the little girl seemed like she was doing a ok job of fanning it away from her face. Maybe it was a little boy in the back seat it was hard to tell from the haze. At least the kid was not stuffed in a bong. Plus how are the cigarette companys going to get new smokers if taxes keep going up and they can't advertise with cartoons. They need to get children addicted some how, and having their parents blow smoke in their face is a good a way as any.
Public spanking should be allowed. Some kids just need it, ask my dad. I was at the zoo this past summer and I seen a ton of kids that need to be spanked and some parents. So I am in the process of creating a private spanking booth, it might just be a shower curtain on a hoola-hoop, but it will allow parents to step in smack that ass and step out. Yes, everyone will know what happen but atleast no one will have seen you do it. I might just carry this around this summer and use it when needed even without permission.
Scott
I certainly don't like smoking and I don't want anyone to smoke in the presence of my child or anyone else's. But.
At some point, we need to figure out the boundary between reasonable government intrusion to ensure safety for us all (seatbelts come to mind) and unreasonable government-as-big-brother nonsense, which is how I feel about the smoking in the car proposal.
Also, I'm worried government will step in and take away my Doritos. Because word is that they aren't the healthiest snack in town. But I love them anyway.
Not as much as I love crack, however.
Verify is denti: A new brand of gum, of course. There are pending copyright issues because of those buzzkills at Dentine.
Post a Comment