Jewish World Review March 17, 2003 / 13 Adar II, 5763
Debra J. Saunders
Joe Nation nation
http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com |
It's amazing how an area that prides itself on its tolerance and
diversity elects so many politicians happy to use their power to ban
behavior they don't like. Or to hammer other people to live as they do.
As case in point, I present California State Assemblyman Joe
Nation, D-San Rafael. This year, Nation introduced a bill to limit smoking
in multifamily dwellings, a bill to outlaw dove hunting, and a resolution
directing public schools to serve vegetarian and vegan meals.
I talked to Nation by phone Thursday, minutes before he left to
comment on National Public Radio's "Talk of the Nation." Nation -- yes, he
said, he was born with the name -- was quick to point out that his Assembly
Bill 210 would not make it illegal for smokers to smoke in their apartments
or condominiums -- unless the unit is designated as non-smoking in 2006. It
would make it illegal to smoke in a complex's outdoor common areas and would
enable nonsmokers to sue neighbors who smoke inside their own homes. Even
opponents agree with his objective, he said.
Wrong. Of course someone suffering from a neighbor's secondhand
smoke should have legal recourse -- if the smoke is truly egregious. But a
local judge told me the law already provides relief.
Also, I don't know of many smokers who believe it should be
illegal to smoke outdoors -- not where nonsmokers are free to walk away.
"Why should the burden be on you to move when someone's there
letting that secondhand smoke drift into your clean air?" Nation responded.
Hmmmm. Maybe because there is no health rationale for not
wanting to move a few feet when outdoors because someone else is smoking.
Assemblyman Dennis Mountjoy, R-Hesperia, sees Nation's smoking
bill as part of a larger move to ban smoking. First, there's the bill passed
in 2001 banning smoking near playgrounds. Next, Nation's bill says no
smoking by the condo pool. Eventually no smoking, period. (With a probable
exception for medical marijuana.)
Which makes me wary of Nation's vegan resolution. Nation said
he's not a vegetarian and doesn't want to ban eating meat in schools. But
that wouldn't stop other lawmakers from using the resolution to mandate tofu
school lunches.
"Resolution sets the stage for statute," Mountjoy warned. Then
there's Nation's Assembly Bill 1190, which would make dove hunting a
misdemeanor. Nation told me he doesn't want to outlaw hunting. He introduced
the measure because too many doves aren't retrieved and die slowly. That's
not humane, he said.
"Not humane?" marveled the California Waterfowl Association's
Bill Gaines: "Joe Nation wouldn't think twice about buying a steak at a
local Safeway. You want to talk about animal cruelty." (At least doves live
freely until they meet the birdshot in the sky.)
What about the rights of dove hunters? Nation answered, "There
are about 100,000 dove hunters in California, which means there are 35
million people, the rest of the population, who don't hunt doves."
So much for the majority looking out for the rights of the
minority. Would Nation like it if a Manteca lawmaker introduced a bill to
ban hot tubs because they waste energy?
Or if a Tulare pol introduced a bill mandating that people eat
only meat that they've slaughtered themselves -- so that cows don't die
needlessly? Or how about a resolution suggesting that public schools serve
dove? Gaines tells me it's healthier than the processed foods served in
public schools.
Shush. Rural lawmakers wouldn't dare write laws like that. They
wouldn't want to look ridiculous.
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© 2000, Creators Syndicate
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