Alcohol, Tobacco, and Guns
By: Joe J. Wallace
Yesterday, one of our readers and a frequent commenter who goes by the handle of “Sadie Mae†posted the following comment in response to our article regarding the comprehensive smoking ban that takes effect today in Vanderburgh County but not in the City of Evansville.
“My only problem with the CCO is that it wants less government, but wants the government to stop smoking at business which pay taxes to the government! I don’t smoke, but it’s legal and the owner needs to decide. If you don’t want smoking, most everyplace in Evansville is smoke free. I’m just saying if you are against government in your life, then quit picking and choosing!â€
As the City County Observer freely acknowledges that we are predisposed to supporting minimization of the impact of government on our day to day lives, we do not support anarchy, we support good public policy. We particularly do not want to see society degenerate into a self serving jungle as the children in William Golding’s novel “Lord of the Flies†did. Government and laws have a place in society. That place with respect to law enforcement is to protect the individual rights of people from being trampled on by others.
Our so called “rights†were granted to us by the founders of the United States and are accepted to be defined by the first 10 amendments to the Constitution of the United States or the Bill of Rights. Contrary to popular belief, neither the Constitution nor the Bill of Rights mentions tobacco. The second amendment does guarantee the right of the people of the United States to keep and bear arms. We at the City County Observer support the Second Amendment.
Guns are not something that one “needs†to have to survive yet the founders of the country felt so strongly about the need of citizens to own them at their own discretion that the words “shall not be infringed†were included in the Second Amendment. Guns in the hands of responsible people can be used to feed a family, assemble a collection for pleasure, teach mechanical skills and proper maintenance procedures, and yes for protection when an irresponsible person or people infringe upon others rights. In the hands of a serial killer or a freeway shooter guns are a danger to society and are used to deprive people of their right to life randomly and indiscriminately. Guns only become a problem when they are used to oppress. As the old saying goes “guns do not kill people, people kill peopleâ€.
The same can be said of tobacco. Tobacco and alcohol have many things in common with guns. All three are legal, none of them can do any damage unless they are “loaded and firedâ€, and all three kill people when used irresponsibly. Humans have corrupted all three by abusive behavior. A freeway shooter that corrupts a gun by spraying bullets into a crowd of people is prosecuted even if no one is hit. A person who drives under the influence of alcohol endangering innocent bystanders is prosecuted even when there is no wreck. Until recently smokers have been allowed to endanger others indiscriminately without any consequence.
In recent history there have been between 8,000 and 10,000 gun related homicides per year in the United States. There are roughly 25,000 deaths per year to innocent bystanders due to people driving while intoxicated. Second hand smoke on the other hand is attributed to contributing to 53,000 deaths per year. The only variable is time. While a gun or a drunk kill or maim instantly, secondhand smoke can take years. The end result is the same, a valuable member of society gets a premature ride in a hearse.
Some dispute these statistics yet many accept them. We accept these numbers as an accurate and relative measurement of the second hand deaths caused by alcohol, tobacco, and guns. The scientific and forensic evidence of all of these statistics is compelling enough to accept.
So Sadie Mae, here is our answer to your comment. Second hand tobacco kills twice as many people per year as drunk drivers and five times as many people as are murdered with guns. We support a comprehensive smoking ban for the same reasons that we support keeping drunk drivers off of the road and the laws that prevent random shooting into crowds or murder. Alcohol, tobacco, and guns are legal and should continue to be. Your right to live without irresponsible use of these legal things endangering you is something that we also support. A comprehensive smoking ban is part of that protection.
Here is an old song about Alcohol, Tobacco, and Guns.
