A few years ago, the Minnesota legislature passed a law banning smoking in restaurants and bars.  The ban was passed by Democrats and Republicans alike and signed into law by a Republican Governor.  Notwithstanding how you feel about smoking or any objection you might have to government legislating what private property owners can or can’t do with a legal substance on or within their private property, now it appears the legislature is poised to extend the law for one individual.  That’s right . . . a law for one person.

As originally passed, the smoking ban included an exception for theatre performances.  The law allows a performer to light and smoke a cigarette or a cigar on stage during a performance. 

State Senator Barb Goodwin from Fridley has re-introduced a law to eliminate this exception (she first introduced the law in 2012) to address an alleged allergy for one of her constituents.  Is this the ultimate example of “micro-management” at a legislative level?  Is this what the Minnesota legislature should be doing?  Legislating individual problems?  What is next?  Outlawing peanuts and peanut oil because of allergies?   

http://fridley.patch.com/articles/smoking-gun-that-s-two-bills-to-sen-barb-goodwin
http://fridley.patch.com/articles/fridley-resident-s-allergies-prompt-mn-bill-to-ban-onstage-smoking