A quick roundup on two stories.
Smoking ban rejected … after voters approved it
One really pissed me off. A small city in Missouri, Webb City, passed a smoking ban through a voter initiative. The City Council then turned around and voted not to implement the smoking ban because they didn’t agree with it — even though more than 56 percent of the voters in their city voted for it. It’s the same fucking thing going on in Montana where Republican legislators keep trying to overturn voter-approved initiatives they don’t agree with.
Webb City Mayor John Biggs responded, “Well obviously some council members believe their opinions are more important than their constituents.”
Assholes.
According to the article:
“The Smoke Free Webb City coalition says the fight is far from over. They will first look into a referendum to get the issue on the ballot again and to make the results binding. Stark says if that’s not available they may have other options. She says, “If recall of city council people is available, then we will probably pursue that route.”
Arkansas bans smoking in cars with kids
Arkansas is the latest state to ban smoking in cars with kids. I think this is sort of a legacy left behind by their former governor, Mike Huckabee, who was a bit of an anti-smoking zealot (and scary Christian fanatic to boot.).
Arkansas already had a law that you couldn’t smoke in a vehicle if you had a child in a child car seat. That law was expanded to include all children under the age of 14.
Personally, I still can’t believe in this day and age there are still people fucking stupid enough to smoke in cars with kids. It’s idiotic that you even have to legislate this stuff, but some people won’t learn until they’re handed a $75 ticket.