Slow burn

It has been interesting to watch the Dutch slowly chip away at the statist/governmentalist mindset when it comes to that smoking ban. It is unfortunate that one has to take mini-steps in restoring individual rights and individual liberties, but if the result in the end is the same, so be it:

The appeals court in the northern city of Leeuwarden on Friday ruled that the owners of a cafe in Groningen are not guilty of breaking the law by allowing their customers to smoke. The law holds "no obligation for those without staff to impose a smoking ban", the court said.

A Groningen district court had fined Cafe De Kachel 1,200 euros, but that verdict has now been overruled by the appeals court. Last month, a bar in Breda won a similar case before a different appeals court.

A smoking has been in place in bars and restaurants in the Netherlands since July 1, 2008. The owners of small bars have objected to the ban from the beginning, saying their size makes it impossible to create sealed-off smoking areas in their cafes, as larger cafes are allowed to do. They also said they should be exempted from the smoking ban because they do not employ staff other than themselves. The Dutch ban was imposed as a measure to protect personnel from secondhand smoke by guaranteeing a smoke-free work environment.

Hardcore statists/governmentalists rarely shrink from using the legal system to impose their point-of-view on the rest us, why not use a bit of their own medicine to blow a little smoke right back in their face?

Using the tools of the statists/governmentalists to defeat them makes the victory (no matter how small) just a tad sweeter.