BROOKLYN, N.Y., April 26, 2017 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Smokers’ rights group NYC\u00a0Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment (C.L.A.S.H.) was courteously extended a personal\u00a0invitation by the office of the NYC Council to attend and provide testimony at the Health Committee hearing being held Thursday on a package of ten anti-smoker proposals.\u00a0The invitation was initially accepted but now we decline.<\/p>\n
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\nC.L.A.S.H. founder, Audrey Silk, recalls, “At the end of 2010 when\u00a0I testified against the council’s\u00a0plan to ban smoking in parks and on beaches I ended my statement with this: Approve this and soon I\u2019ll be here again testifying against your plan to ban smoking in homes. Well I don\u2019t think so.”<\/p>\n
Of course we were assured it would never come to that.\u00a0But today, this hearing includes a bill to ban smoking inside apartments of city-financed apartment buildings and another\u00a0creates the\u00a0conditions for\u00a0privately owned multi-unit dwellings to consider doing the same by forcing owners to single out the subject of smoking in lease documents.<\/p>\n
Our previous concerns vindicated we now stand by our word that airing objections at what amounts to no more than\u00a0a pro forma proceeding on a preordained conclusion\u00a0is not only a waste of time but beneath our dignity. Rather, C.L.A.S.H.’s position, as further stated\u00a0at that last time at bat, is to advocate peaceful\u00a0individual resistance. Good men disobey bad laws. One need only to take a stroll in a park or on a\u00a0beach today to see this is what has unfolded.<\/p>\n
While C.L.A.S.H. will not be physically present at the hearing, testimony will be submitted on paper for the sake of the historical documentation of our objections. For the record, it will include the following:<\/p>\n
Congratulations for giving police officers a beautiful way to get around the clamp down on stop, question and frisk! Pulling people over for something as inane as smoking as an excuse to probe for more is a gift. I should know. I\u2019m retired NYPD.<\/p>\n
Congratulations for putting more minorities out of their homes to loiter on the sidewalks and attract the attention of the police while the more affluent get to remain comfortably and safely in their homes!<\/p>\n
Congratulations for increasing the number of \u201cbuttleggers\u201d ready to meet the demand for lower cost smokes (New York already has the highest rate of cigarette smuggling at over 55%).<\/p>\n
So congratulations too for making it easier for minors to buy cigarettes! Teens know better than anyone else where to get \u201cthe goods.\u201d (Where do you think they get their pot?) And unlike stores no carding!<\/p>\n
Congratulations for helping to fund terrorism and using those minors and adults to do so! Terror-tied individuals are well known to take advantage of this lucrative endeavor created by our politicians.\u00a0Better a bomb that no one invites than freedom to make an invited, informed legal choice, right?<\/p>\n
Congratulations for creating an even greater incentive to burglarize and rob bodegas and convenience stores! Many times the details in a news report include the fact that cartons of cigarettes were targeted during these crimes. And hey, that\u2019s more illicit street sales to minors. Way to go!<\/p>\n
And a really hearty handshake and congratulations for beating out your competitor \u2013 the tobacco industry \u2013 by making more money off the sale of a pack of cigarettes than they do! Who is it really that is in the business of selling cigarettes these days?<\/p>\n
Just last week the NY Times reported how Iraqis, liberated from ISIS control, expressed their joy. The\u00a0headline read, \u201cAfter ISIS, Smoking Openly to Feel Free.\u201d Our sentiments exactly. It’s a matter of being let alone to live freely rather than the way demanded by a group in power.<\/p>\n
About NYC C.L.A.S.H.:<\/strong>
\nCitizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment is a\u00a0grassroots organization established in 2000\u00a0dedicated to advancing and protecting the interests of adults who choose to smoke cigarettes or enjoy other forms of tobacco or use electronic cigarettes.<\/p>\n