Right now the yellow jersey for leading the assault on private property rights belongs to the Texas Restaurant Association. The TRA, until yesterday, had been perhaps the staunchest opponent to a statewide smoking ban but is now formally supporting the measure.
The group is digressing from their true policy convictions due to the maze of bans that have cropped up in cities over the last couple of years, making the restaurant playing field quite uneven.
In the end this is a property rights issue and it is safe to say the result of this battle will have a lasting impact on the levels of liberty and freedom in Texas.
The DMN reported yesterday that a large contingent of the Tarrant Co. delegation is supporting the smoking ban being pushed this session. There is however one voice of reason in the ruckus.
State Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, is a restaurant owner who opposes the ban. Geren saw sales fall at his barbecue restaurant after Fort Worth enacted its own smoking ban.
While we don’t like smoking, we do like property rights and the free market. Restaurants catering to smokers may not get our business — but that isn’t the government’s call.
When the government interferes with private property rights land owners don’t win and neither does the government. That ends up costing us all.
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