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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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WH: Surrendering Private Property

The Eagle smoking ordinance is a restriction on private property. I think everyone would agree that is true. It would prohibit smoking in bars and allow only 20 percent of a hotel's rooms to go to smokers. (What public policy is served by telling hoteliers in Eagle that they can only rent out 20 percent of their rooms to smokers? And why 20 percent, of all numbers?) In its current form, the Eagle ordinance could also prohibit smoking in an office where the owner has just one employee, even if that business rarely or never sees outside customers. In other words, you can work hard your whole life, buy office space in Eagle, and then be told you're not allowed to enjoy a legal activity (smoking) on your property if that's your choice/Wayne Hoffman, Idaho Freedom Foundation. More here.

Question: Do you share Wayne Hoffman's opinion that government-enforced smoking bans in bars, hotels and even businesses are a violation of personal property rights?



D.F. Oliveria
D.F. (Dave) Oliveria joined The Spokesman-Review in 1984. He currently is a columnist and compiles the Huckleberries Online blog and writes about North Idaho in his Huckleberries column.

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