TO THE EDITOR:

When I take my wife out for supper, we enjoy going to a restaurant that is smoke free. As neither one of us smokes, it's always nice for us to dine in a place where second-hand smoke isn't going make our evening uncomfortable - and we enjoy not having the smoke smell on our clothes when we get home.

The proposed Statewide Smoking Ban is supposed to cater to people like me. Bill sponsors say we need to ban smoking statewide because we should not have to be around smokers, and that employees and non-smoking patrons of a smoke-filled workplace are helpless to do anything except breathe in the deadly toxins.

Yet my personal opinion is a statewide smoking ban is an absolute assault on the personal property rights that are guaranteed to us under the U.S. Constitution - and an assault of choices that we make as individuals in a free society.

This act would ban smoking in all bars, restaurants, and places of employment. What falls under a "place of employment?" Believe it or not, your personal car and home. If a certain part of your home is used for business and at least one employee is present, you can't light up.

If you're driving somewhere with a co-worker on business - even if it's your own personal vehicle - you would be violating the statewide smoking ban. This proposal is, without question, one of the greatest personal property rights violations I have seen in my many years in the Minnesota House.

The market does work, as people do vote with their feet. The simple fact is that we should market businesses as "smoke free." In the spirit of cooperation and compromise, I will support a statewide ban in restaurants where families and children frequent, but we should not extend this ban to bars, VFW's, Legions, KC Halls, and others.

The smoking ban also represents one of the greatest hypocrisies I've ever seen in a proposed mandate. You would expect that every workplace in Minnesota would be covered under a statewide smoking ban, wouldn't you? That every employee is entitled to breathe clean, smoke-free air while working?

Under this proposal - which is being pushed by Democrats - tribal casinos would be exempt from following this statewide mandate. Oddly enough, Minnesota tribes are among the largest campaign contributors to Democratic lawmakers. According to a recent campaign finance report, Minnesota tribes put more than $1.2 million in the DFL's campaign coffers through contributions and disbursements during the last election cycle. Not surprisingly, they are allowed to maintain their smoking privileges under this plan.

The Democrats have long insisted tribal governments have a monopoly on casino gaming. Now they're insisting they have a monopoly on smoking in the workplace. Minnesota tribal casinos employ 13,000 people, but those workers will not have the freedom to breathe under this bill.
Make no mistake, money talks; and if you have enough of it, you can apparently buy your way out of a mandate that forces every other employer in the State of Minnesota to comply.

If you are as outraged about this intrusive and hypocritical act as I am, I urge you to contact your state lawmakers and share your displeasure. Big government should not be telling people how to completely run their lives, and it certainly should not be choosing winners based on their campaign contributions.

Steve Sviggum
Former Minnesota
Speaker of the House