Reaction to End of Smoking Ban
As a nonsmoker and also a person who does not own a restaurant, I would like to thank the Bellflower City Council for repealing the smoking ban. This decision strengthens the rights of business owners to control their own property. Hopefully, the City Council can get to other important issues.
More importantly, I would like to say to Sue van den Hoek and other supporters of the smoking ban that government policy in this country is made by elected representatives, not the number of protesters that happen to appear at any city council meeting. The fact that most people at the April 27 meeting were for the ban does not nullify the election results. There is no way to assume that a majority of protesters automatically represents the will of the majority. In fact, it is quite often the minority that turns out in larger numbers because they are frustrated at being--the minority.
THOMAS W. GRAHAM
Bellflower
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