It perplexes me when people speak so highly of personal liberties and then fail to mention the rest of the phrase'personal liberties of others. It's easy to know what your own personal liberties are, it's quite another to understand where your 'rights' begin and where other people's personal liberties end.

There have been numerous articles written about the new 'smoking ban.' A ban which does nothing to keep smokers from smoking, does nothing to keep people from making cigarettes and selling them, and does nothing to keep business owners from running their businesses.

However, the same state which outlawed gay marriage not two years ago, now finds its natives restless over an apparent governmental 'abuse of power.' Which abuse are we talking about here?

Since when is my own personal health not an issue of governmental concern? Is a seat belt law a gross infringement on personal liberties? Since when does the government not take an interest in the lives of its citizens? And since when does the courageous small business owner have complete and utter control over its business?

Yes, free enterprise is the backbone of this society. Yes, you do have a right to smoke. No, you do not have the right to smoke at the hazard of others. When the surgeon general makes such a grand statement saying that second-hand smoke could very well lead to cancer, are we courageously defending civil liberties when we speak against such a smoke-free law? Or are we just stupid?

When someone drinks and drives, but makes it home safely, haven't they broken the law? And haven't they endangered other people in the process? Yes'that's why there's a law against driving under the influence. Even if you make it home, you are endangering someone else's life the moment you put that Honda into drive. Is it an abuse of personal liberties to put someone in jail because they had a few too many and then got behind the wheel?

As with any right, say with drinking alcohol, there are limitations. You can't walk down the middle of the street in Ohio with an open beer and drink it. You can walk down the middle of the street and smoke. Now you can't smoke in the presence of others because it endangers their health. Makes sense to me.

Now about keeping other people from getting married.

Dan Luckett
Senior
Psychology and Communications