Not meaning to beat a dead horse, but more must be said about the newly passed anti-smoking ordinance. What I stated to the council just before the basically stone deaf members (all had made their minds up before the public comments were ‘heard’) was smoking was not the issue, liberty was. Liberty, our right to choose, the basis of our being Americans, the concept enshrined in the Constitution, included in our Pledge of Allegiance, a statue commemorating it in New York harbor, Patrick Henry’s words.

Sure, the health of the people who can easily avoid the ‘peril’ is a concern of the council, but so is the preservation of our guaranteed liberties which many soldiers gave their lives to protect.

Where do we draw the line? What if statics ‘prove’ that apple sauce eaters are more likely to die earlier than non eaters? Ban apple sauce?

FYI: I am a poster boy for breathing second hand smoke, my choice.

RICHARD PHILLIPS

NEW IBERIA