"An American Legion post in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is taking a stand. They have decided to challenge a recently enacted statewide smoking ban in court. Their argument: Smoking bans are totally un-American. "Michigan veterans fight for right to smoke - VFW post in Baraga defies state's new ban, files lawsuit"
BARAGA -- The veterans at the American Legion Post 444 see it as pretty straightforward.Later on in the article:
Smoking tobacco is legal. They own, run and risk failure at their post's tavern in tiny Baraga at the base of the Keweenaw Bay in the Upper Peninsula.
So they get to decide whether patrons get to smoke.
Now Foucault-Funke Post 444, where the ashtrays never came off the tables and smokers line the bar each afternoon and evening, is at the center of what could be a decisive showdown for the new state law and -- as the vets see it -- for the individual liberty and self-government they fought to defend.
Earlier this month, the post sued the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department to strike down as unconstitutional the department's order to end indoor smoking.
The way one of those smokers, Baraga resident and auxiliary post member Anita Shepard, sees it, that smoke is what freedom looks like.Post specifically targeted over libertarian stance:
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.
Post spokesman O'Leary, also the Baraga County prosecuting attorney, believes noncompliance with the law, especially in the libertarian-leaning Upper Peninsula, is more widespread than health officials acknowledge. The legion post has been targeted, at least in part, because it is openly defiant, he said."Quite!..... Best of luck to these boys
Send them a message of support
mail@florissantlegion.org
Open defiance! How bloody refreshing!
ReplyDeletelt is indeed and also they are getting support from the people. My heart really wants them to win.
ReplyDeleteGood for them!
Go for it Baraga, and good luck!. It is what we should be doing here, civil disobedience on a grand scale....
ReplyDeleteGood luck to them, more action like this is needed World-wide.
ReplyDeleteSupporting email sent :-)
ReplyDeleteAll the lawmakers and politicians in favor of the bans are just bored and greedy.
ReplyDelete