Now that Mayor New's proposal for a Council counter-proposal has been shot down, we are looking at the original language, all 12 pages of it, that 4500 people signed.
In one way, the Snafu on the language (which yours truly first caught) and the reprint of correct language twice officially and once by the Standard-Times, in print that did not require a magnifying glass, has been to the benefit of our campaign against the smoke nannies. The more people who actually read the WHOLE thing, the more "no" votes we get. I have heard from many signators, something like, "I didn't know all that crap was in it".
My opinion, and I've done a campaign or 8, the more voters know about this proposal, the less they will like it. It is more strict than Austin, and if Austin ain't liberal enough for you, what can I say, move to California. Just keep in mind, 200,000 Californians are moving to Texas each MONTH!
Something pointed out to me in yesterday's Council meeting by a management-level police officer: There is a study, published in a peer-reviewed journal (Journal of Public Economics) by Scott Adams of Univ. of Wisconsin and Chad Cotti of Univ. of South Carolina. They reviewed several American cities which had imposed city wide smoking bans, including bars, El Paso one of them.
They found that in smoke-ban cities including bars, DWIs, alcohol related crashes and injuries, and even fatalities had significantly risen. Not that hard a thought. If the smoking drinker cannot smoke at the local beer-joint, he will travel to where he can. Instead of creeping safely home 5-10 blocks at low speed from the neighborhood bar, he is coming in from 10-15 miles out of town at highway rate of speed.
Folks, if I were determined to avoid second hand smoke, however dangerous it might be, all I need do is avoid places that allow smoking, a distinct and growing minority of businesses, nearly all adult only. Smoker, Non-Smoker, how can you avoid the drunk coming home. Unlike the business with its "smoking allowed" sign, they are most unlikely to post a sign on the vehicle, legible at night advising you, "Give me lots of room, I'm CROCKED"!
