Posted on 02/17/2009 8:00:48 AM PST by fanfan
PORT HOPE -- It's only a matter of time before someone "snaps" after being pulled over under Ontario's new law forbidding smoking in a vehicle carrying a minor, a police officer said yesterday in response to a quirk in the legislation that was made evident during a weekend incident.
"People got mad enough when they couldn't smoke in bars anymore or bingo parlours," Port Hope Sgt. Bryant Wood said. "Now you're telling them they can't smoke in cars. At some point somebody's going to snap along the way here."
Nova Scotia is the only other jurisdiction in the country to have a similar law. Ontario had previously banned smoking in all enclosed public places and workplaces before the new legislation took effect late last month.
Wood's comments came a day after one of his colleagues, Const. Tammie Hartford, pulled over Port Hope resident Tory Ashton, 20, and wrote him a $155 ticket for smoking in his vehicle with a person under age 16 present.
Ashton was transporting several passengers, including a 15-year-old girl. While the ticket was being written, the girl got out of the car and legally lit up a cigarette.
Ashton said the girl was upset he was given a ticket.
"She's 15, she smokes also and ... they're giving me the fine," he told CTV.
There is no law prohibiting a 15-year-old from smoking; it's only illegal for someone under 19 years of age to purchase or sell tobacco.
Wood, who has been a police officer for 16 years, said he anticipates that as more people are written up in Ontario for the new driving violation, problems will arise.
"The problem is people believe they have the right to smoke," he said. "It's their vehicle, it's their free will to be able to have a cigarette.
"Generally speaking, I think we're going to run into a lot of bad attitudes when we pull people over for that. It's going to become almost a human-rights issue for them."
The provincial politician representing the eastern Ontario riding that contains Port Hope called it a "glitch" in the law that allowed a man to be fined for smoking with a 15-year-old girl in his car while she could stand by the side of the road and legally light up.
Liberal Lou Rinaldi, member for Northumberland-Quinte West, is asking for a meeting with the province's health promotion minister later this week to find ways to improve the fledgling legislation.
Time to start putting some whoop ass on nanny state legislators ...
It is for the good of the children, comrade. If you don’t like it we have a place for you up in North Bay.
Waiting for the next round of Nanny-state laws where people will be restricted from burning wood and BBQ. It’ll start with homes with Childrun’ then go from there....
A Particulate Particle is a Particulate Particle.
This is what happens in a socialist country.
This is so wrong on so many levels.
"It's those #%@*& people and their #$@%& rights!!! Someone oughta make a law!!" Oh wait....
Back in the day, it wasn’t anything unusual for a pregnant woman to smoke, or drink a few beers or wine for that matter. Hell my dad played in a band in the bars all through the 70’s & 80’s - with my pregnant mother (who smoked) and me in tow.... it’s a wonder my brother and I have made it this long to hear the smoking police tell it.
Idiots. They put this law into effect without taking into account third-hand smoke — the particulate residue that would be inside the car long after a smoker had finished smoking, fouling the upholstery and windows and doing heaven knows what to passengers. The law should prohibit smoking in a car if there is a possibility that some time a person under sixteen might ride in it.
Nanny State PING..........
Several US states already have this law. Thanks to some 3rd grade twit in my daughter’s elementary school, my twit of a state sinator is attempting to push this legislation through the Virginia legislature.
What will they think of next to invade my privacy? There must be something in the water at government buildings that makes the politicians into idiots. Pretty soon they will have laws on how to wipe your ass and clip your toenails.
They don't????? Let's not give them any bright ideas.......
All kidding aside, my daughter is in 5th grade and came home from school a couple of weeks ago totally agitated about this. An announcement had been made in school about the bill be called "Matthew's Law" after the 3rd grader who complained to the sinator about smoking in cars. My daughter wanted to know why this kid had the right to tell other people what they could and couldn't do on their own property.
Did you forget your sarcasm tag? I only ask because I’ve seen some FReepers post in this sentiment, and mean it.
Thanks for the ping.
I dare them to do this in my area. I’ll buy a “baby on board” sign, and install a car seat and put a doll in it. That ought to be a good time waster for the popo.
Now the communists in the Partnership for a Tobacco Free Maine are on a campaign to encourage private property owners to refuse to rent their property to smokers.
The demonization continues, and the sheep happily bleat their way to the slaughterhouse.
A Bangor cop pulled him over and when, much to his disappointment, he discovered there weren't any kids in the van proceeded to lecture this citizen of a formerly free country about the e-e-e-e-v-i-l-s of smoking.
Whoops! (/sarc)! No, I was just following this line of thinking to its absurd conclusion.
And just about to head outside for a pipe of Prince Albert.
“A Particulate Particle is a Particulate Particle.”
You make so much sense you may get sent to re-education camp my friend. I have been considering filing a lawsuit to have all vehicle traffic stopped with in a few miles of my home and workplace, as the 2nd hand particulates are dangerous to me and my family. Somehow i doubt that this ridiculous precedence will be applied in my case..lol.
Sounds exactly like something they will do. Perhaps you think you are being sarcastic, hard to tell since you didn't put the /sarcasm tag after your post, but if not then words fail me.
Whew, then I am certainly glad I didn’t respond accordingly!
;-)
Respect my authority, citizen!
Definitely sarcastic. But you know, I’ve been thinking about this a little more, and I’ve come to the conclusion that they should prohibit smoking in cars entirely because even though a smoker might never have people under sixteen as passengers, some day he might trade or sell the car, and the new owner might have minor passengers and, if he doesn’t, then the next owner when he sells or trades might have minor passengers. This problem is bigger than anyone ever imagined.
Hey, I think I’ve got the right frame of mind to run for the legislature!
Why not?
Equally absurd "reasoning" has allowed draconian laws to be passed prohibiting voluntary smoking-only restaurants. Say no more than 20% of all restaurants.
The logic?
The whining control freaks cry that they might want to visit one of them, or perhaps they have better food, or other equally absurd justifications.
Is that a whiff of totalitarianism we're smelling?
Islam already does. We'll have the same before long.
Which one?
Totalitarism is exactly what we are smelling. As far as the logic behind such laws, there is no logic except the people with political power, all the way from the White House down to the city council, see themselves as justified in finding more and more ways to shove people around — because they can.
My favorite smoking ban has to do with cigar bars. Everyone who works in one of them or goes into one of them either smokes cigars or doesn’t have a problem with it. It reminds me of the line from “Dr. Strangelove”, when the president is trying to break up a fight between the George C. Scott character and the Soviet ambassador: “Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here! This is the War Room!”
You can now add the USSA. I just heard that they are trying to pass one in Kansas now.
>.to encourage private property owners to refuse to rent their property to smokers.
Happening more and more.
And as far as cars, I anticipate a complete ban in public areas, and since roads are public......and then there’s the whole thirdhandsmoke thingie.
Funny story, someone I know rented an apt where the people upstairs didn’t like the tabak smoke but smoked the funny weed themselves and apparently saw no hypocrisy in asking the downstairs tabak smokers to step outside while they bonged up indoors!
Any idea what their FReeper name was?
Ironicaly, Kansas has announced that they won’t make payroll Friday.
But they have time to mess with this.
Thank you!
You’re welcome!
The law is an @ss!
That’s for sure.
LOL!!
Same with Michigan. The state is ready to default, but Gov. Grandmole is ‘chafing at the bit’ to sign a statewide smoker ban into effect before she leaves office.
There are reasons I left MI...
Actually, someone posted an excellent letter last night, about why he was moving his business out of CA.
I was completely sympathetic - same reasons I left MI. Taxes, but more to the point, REGULATION. An even bigger barrier to doing business.
Wish I had bookmarked the letter.
There are soon gonna be a lot of people snapping all over the civilized world over a lot of new laws and taxes. The stress cracks are everywhere.
None of this stuff is happening in a vacuum.
;-)
Maybe, but it won’t do us any good unless we do it en masse.
Cracking one at a time just fills up more prisons and mental health wards.
Maybe we should call for a crack day?
Thanks for the ping!
I was telling my daughter the other day about the days when people smoked in their hospital rooms and she just couldn’t believe it. She is a conservative but has been so thoroughly brainwashed by the antismoking campaigns that she just kept saying, “now thats just crazy!” I told her it wasn’t crazy at the time. It was just normal.
You forgot your sarcasm tag. People might believe you are actually serious.
Sinator? OK I get it. I thought it was a typo until I saw it again. Very witty and so true.
Islam already does.
Yeah. They don't wipe it at all. They just go around stinking.
Some people evidently did take me seriously. I guess things have become pretty crazy when an absurd idea like that might be taken seriously as a policy proposal — like that ever happens! (/sarc)
Yep. You’d be surprised at the antismoking nazis on FR. I knew you were being sarcastic but some people would take you seriously.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.