Outside influence on ban issue

I was reading a letter to the editor recently where it mentioned governmental intrusion into our personal lives. It suddenly struck me that the attempt to pass the smoking ban is not being pushed by our government. It is being pushed by a very large private organization that has come into our town with a bundle of cash ($83,000 to date) with the intent to push their agenda down our throats. What they propose for Cape Girardeau is a lot more restrictive than what some city governments have already passed.

Do not lose sight of the fact that these are the people who successfully bankrolled and pushed the recently passed New York City smoking ban in 23 city parks and 14 miles of public beaches. Google this if you want more information. Their publicly stated long term agenda is to ban smoking everywhere.

Even if you have no opinion or are neutral on banning smoking, I believe there is a need to vote against the smoking ban Tuesday in order to send a clear message to outside organizations that they cannot come into our town, spend a lot of money and determine for us how we must conduct our businesses in Cape Girardeau.

BILL HINCKLEY, Cape Girardeau