Will Michigan's smoking ban get overturned because of Upper Peninsula's Baraga?
August 15, 2010
The new state smoking ban, Shepard said, is just one more encroachment on personal freedom, a decision handed down by out-of-touch politicians 500 miles away. She likens it to restrictions on gun rights and creeping government intrusion generally.
"We're not a communist country yet, but we're only one step away from it," she said.
via www.freep.com
It's hard to read this Detroit Free Press story about the American Legion Post in Baraga in the Upper Peninsula and not smile with some degree of respect.
They are defying the state's ban on smoking in public places by saying that they are consuming a legal substance. They say it's their right to smoke and they're not going to put away the ashtrays at their American Legion Post.
They are also suing to keep this right.
Are these just "old soaks" with too much time on their hands or are they engaging in a righteous fight to protect their rights?