State senators' decisive 28-10 vote Tuesday for a ban on smoking in Virginia restaurants was a reflection of their constituents' legitimate concerns about the health hazards of second-hand smoking.
A vote by six delegates on Thursday evening to suppress all legislation calling for new smoking restrictions is a reflection of how democracy is pushed aside in Richmond whenever public opinion clashes with the tobacco industry.
The story doesn't have to end here, but it will unless Virginia Beach Del. Terrie Suit steps forward to make sure this important public health issue gets the hearing it deserves.
The Virginia Beach Republican remains adamant that she will not use her power as the new chairwoman of the House General Laws Committee to secure a vote by all 22 members of that panel. That means the ban has no hope of ever getting to the 100-member House, where it stands a better chance of passage.
Suit is not just obstructing the desires of nameless millions across the state. She is blocking legislation that her own constituents strongly support.
Polls show there is broad backing for restaurant smoking bans in Hampton Roads, as many as 7 of every 10 citizens. All but one of the local governments in the region, including Virginia Beach, endorsed the proposal. A majority of owners in the Virginia Beach Restaurant Association have worked relentlessly for the ban.
Dels. John Cosgrove of Chesapeake and Tom Gear of Hampton were among the six delegates who voted to table the measures this week. At least they have never changed sides, like Suit.
As chairman, Suit is the only person who can revive those bills. A majority vote in the full committee could accomplish that task, but that is unlikely. She supported Gov. Tim Kaine's effort last year to pass a smoking ban for restaurants.
Her abrupt about-face followed her elevation to a chairmanship by party leaders adamantly opposed to the smoking ban. That's probably not a coincidence. Suit says she changed her mind because she believes enough restaurants have voluntarily gone smoke-free.
She's entitled to change her mind, but the wishes of her constituents deserve more consideration than she is giving them. The smoking issue ought to be settled on the floor of the House, not in a tiny subcommittee.
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No clue
The editorial board of the VP has absolutely no clue about this issue. The so-called "polls" that allege 70% of Virginians support such a ban are bogus and are conducted by organizations that are paid to get such bans passed. If they don't get the ban passed, they jeopardize their funding for next year.
Real live people, taxpayers of Virginia helped kill these intrusions on priavte property owners. Real live constituents of the General Assembly excersized their right to petition their elected representatives to do the right thing in the House of Delegates. It is the Senate that abused their office to trample on their constituents.
The Smoking Ban
It's funny that the editors of this paper feel that Delegate Terry Suit is not listening to her constitutents and "playing politics" when it came to her position on the smoking ban. Yet when these delegates and local city councils ignored their consitutents on the Hampton Roads Transportation Authority, it became.....LEADERSHIP.
As for "all but one of the local governments in the region, including Virginia Beach, endorsing the proposal", it's about time that local governments for a change to see what it feels like to be ignored.
Delegate Suit was right. Private businesses should have the right to decide whether a legal activity will or will not be allowed in their establishments.