The statewide smoking ban won't pass this year. It got through the House, but the leader of the Senate says we're not ready for it yet:
But Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne, said Wednesday he expects the state will eventually adopt a ban.
“As you see more and more counties and cities passing smoking bans, the opportunity for a statewide ban increases and will gain momentum,” Long said.
[. . .]
“It's a tough environment in a short session and a tough economy for doing it,” Long said. “I fault no one for voting for that. I just don't think we're ready to consider that in the Senate right now.”
1. "A tough economy" for doing it means, "Let's not do anything that might hurt business in the middle of a recession." Is that an admission that it's OK to hurt business when times are good? 2. Maybe so. Conservative Republicans such as Long are usually the last ones standing fast on their "let business owners decide what to do with their private property" principles when smoking bans finally do pass. The fact that even he expects the state to eventually pass a ban is more than a a little significant.
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Or he may have been saying he doesn't think the state can take a hit on losing tobacco tax money right now!
There's a lot of factors at play, but Long is right, it's inevitable. Some things take longer than others but eventually the state will in fact be able to complete a rectally induced colonoscopy by remote control. In lay terms, they've got their hand so far up our ***es they can grab our tonsils.