New Law Would Fine You for Smoking in Car with Child

Ultimately, protecting children is always a good thing.

If you agree with this law because it's "to protect the children" then what's to stop the government from banning people from having "risky, gay sex" in their own homes because they want to protect the children in the home from such things? How about drinking? Alcoholics are a danger to children, let's remove children from all homes that have any kind of alcohol in it. We must protect them, after all.

Can't any of you see how these small attacks to our civil rights in the name of public safety will eventually grow into bigger problems and abuses against our Constitutional and privacy rights?

Do you people realize that the government (both Democrat and Republican) is not working FOR the people but AGAINST the people?

Please wake up and think long-term consequences, people. These "sin" laws and their subsequent taxing of such minor grievances are getting out of control and the government is taking full advantage, the old "Give them an inch they take a mile".

Common sense must prevail soon.

i am so sick of this states attack on civil liberties its wrong to smoke with kids in the car but i do not need the police having another reason to pull me over and search my car or person,patterson go to hell you ugly freak!

This law means my dad would have been fined repeatedly when I was a kid. I loved my dad, but I would have been happy with him spending $100 to get the message.

It's been illegal here in California for a few years now.

Snickerdoodle,

Republicans always benefit the working man and women

by starting war it's called the enlisted military

service.Yes ,those people in the service work.

When you smoke it just means that your brain

is on fire. it's a mental anguish that you show the world.

We should eliminate this sicko thing that adults do.

No freedom in the cancer ward when that morphine drip

no longer stops the pain from fragile lung tissue dissolving into nothingness.

The original bill would have carried the possibility of jail time, take a sample of 100 people arrested in each borough, (out of a reasonable low ball # 100,000 a day in the entire city smoking with kids in the car)

any crime with jail time certainly carries the possibility of immediate arrest, putting handcuffs on mommy in front of the kids, processing which is usually 2-3 days, which means searching for relatives or placement of children in some foster care agency. then a small percentage of those people will actually have bail because they may be found drunk, with a weapon or weed etc.

then towing the car and impounding it, the actual original bill was nonsense since effectively a small percentage of those people may actually end up getting jail time, creating more chaos with jobs, rent, and child care, and lawyer expenses.

all those things put together is the classic example of why politics are Bull.

sounds nice, you will type away agreement, but in reality

the actual rollout of such a plan would collapse the city with an impossible consequence for our criminal justice system which cant handle that kind of overload and the resulting family choas attached to the whole idea of protecting a kid from second hand smoke.

bring back rapes and murders and daily bank robberies, think decoy mommies smoking and driving with a baby doll in a car seat, women getting mugged walking home while all the cops are looking for smokers with a kid in the back seat.

i suggest you put a picture of Senator Toby Ann Stavisky and vote in the next election to put this old hag out to pasture.

(trust me dont google her, searching for an image of her face is just as bad as looking for two girls one cup)

I smoke but I wouldn't do it with a small child in the car and I'm not so much against this law as I'm against all these laws looking to limit our freedoms through taxation. No smoking, no salt, no trans fat, no soda, etc., etc., etc. is just the beginning. We can't keep allowing our freedoms to be taken away piece by piece.

Sure some of these laws or taxes may make sense but I don't want anything to infringe on my liberty. I think if we keep allowing this to happen it will eventually it'll move on to other issues. Americans had more freedoms ten years ago but now because of terrorist concerns or health issues or what have you we have less freedom, there's no excuse for it.

Having our freedoms taken away sucks, I know, heres your pacifier.

There are some laws, however, that are wise while they do so. Think seat belt laws. My goddam freedom to superman through my windshield is gone forever, forever!

So is this one. I only wish something could be done about the children who have to put up with this selfish shit at home.

well said

Funny how the smokers are for the law; the non-smokers against it.

What's the statute of limitations on this one?

Look out, Mom and Dad, here I come!

Liberals have been trying, and failing, to legislate behavior forever. Nothing changes.

Right... Those stupid liberals wanted auto companies to INSTALL SEAT BELTS! Jerks! Also, SPEED LIMITS! I should be able to do what I want when I want! Except, of course, if I want to smoke pot. That's a big no-no.

Damn Liberals! Wanting overtime pay, child labor laws and for women to vote. Progress is sooooo stupid.

Damn liberals wanting to criminalize free speech and make it a crime to offend people with their crazy ideas and difference of opinions!

btw, it was the Republicans who freed the slaves while the Democrats wanted to keep it legal. That's some real progress, jah.

Name one thing modern-day Republicans ever championed to benefit the regular working man. (Last 50 years)

I have little respect for our current Congress and feel politicians from both parties are self-serving and failing to uphold their duty to the public.

That said, I think the Reagan tax cuts greatly benefited the regular working man as they spurred tremendous job growth and economic expansion.

Okay, I wasn't going to comment on this but you are a freaking idiot. "it was the Republicans who freed the slaves while the Democrats wanted to keep it legal." Oh yeah, because there's so much similarity between the parties of today and the parties of now. The Republicans of the 1860s would disown the Republicans of today.

new parents need the cigarettes. they're a little bit fat, and not so well-dressed. the cigarettes gives them a rakish, devil may care look - a sort of worldly nonchalance however homespun.

Yay! More government control over every small facet of our daily lives. I don't smoke, but this kind of shit is getting ridiculous.

+1 I'm all for taxing tobacco, labeling requirements, advertising limitations etc but this is a ridiculous intrusion on people's behavior in the PRIVACY of their cars. Intrusive laws like this also drive people to the right wing.

Finally, a voice of reason.

So, smoking in a car with a child is a small facet of your daily life? If you smoke in your car with a freaking kid in it, you are an oblivious idiot and deserve to get a ticket.

You're making a poor health decision for yourself and for your child yes, but you are doing it in the privacy of your car. The 4th amendment's establishment of the right to privacy and against intrusion (and supreme court decisions expanding the right to privacy) are far more important consideration here than the bad decisions people make about their health and the health of their children. If we become accepting of laws like this it will only be a matter of time before we are okay with laws that fine you for giving your children fatty food or sugary drinks.

1) I don't smoke. I hate it.

2) I'll go you one even better: If you walk down the sidewalk every day, breathing out CO2, then I would like for you to get a ticket for expelling noxious fumes into my breathing space.

Awesome. More of our rights taken away by the Nanny Government. I hope this law will not get passed. If it does what's to stop them from fining people for drinking soda in their car? The government has no business telling people how to behave and/or raise their children.

People need to wake the eff up and fight back against the out-of-control government who are always looking for new ways to tax and rob the masses blind under the guise of "public health and safety", simply because they refuse to put a cap on their over-spending and learn how to balance a freaking budget.

People who agree with this law are the ones who are destroying this country and our freedoms, little by little.

The government is no longer working FOR us but AGAINST us.

Full Report: The Economic Elite Vs. The People of the United States of America.

I'm sorry, did you just refer to smoking as a "right"? If so, you are a simpleton.

I think it is accurate to say smoking is a right. You should have the right to do whatever you want to your body.

That doesn't mean that you have a right to smoke wherever you want, consequences be damned. This proposal does not take away anyone's rights.

This is too lenient. People who smoke with children in their cars should be sterilized to prevent them from bringing more children into harm's way. Someone who is so irresponsible as to smoke with their kids in the car are probably horrible parents or caretakers in all other aspects as well.

You are out of your mind. Smoking in your car with a baby along as a passenger is nothing like drinking a soda. The smoke affects the baby in the enclosed space. That is undeniable. You have no right to poison the child. You have every right to poison yourself if you choose to, but once you infringe on someone else's well being, that's where your freedom ends.

If poisoning your children is going to be a crime, the courts are going to be awfully busy processing all those parents coming out of McDonalds.

You are WRONG, new person. Everyone I know that smokes while driving keeps their window down a bit so the smoke leaves the vehicle. The only people who don't are those that toke a little ganja while driving. Plus, I grew up with both parents smoking in the car (while I was in the back sans car seat) and I'm a perfectly healthy adult.

that explains a lot. your parents smoking stunt your mental growth.

Great retort there. If my mental growth is stunted and I'm able to correctly spell and my grammar is always impeccable, what does that make you?

ah, you have poor reasoining. I believe your parents didn't like you so they deliberately smoked in your face. :D

>> Everyone I know that smokes while driving keeps their window down a bit so the smoke leaves the vehicle. >>

Well, ok then! Problem solved!

Nice anecdotal evidence. If you say so, it must be true!

You're right. If I say so, it must be true. All evidence to the contrary is also anecdotal, so explain how it is true. Because some other human, who believes himself to be an expert, says so? Second-hand smoke has never been proven. I don't smoke and I don't like cigarettes, probably because both of my parents did it all of the time, but I tire at the government continously trying to control its population's behavior.

It's oft-repeated that secondhand smoke hasn't been proven. That is, of course, patently false. It's not just "some other human" who is saying it. It is thousands of highly trained people, including the WHO, Surgeon General, CDC, NIH, etc. If you want to go against all of them with your "my parents smoked and I'm OK", be my guest.

The research also shows that the negative effects secondhand smoke are greatly amplified in small enclosed spaces, such as a car.

Oh, you mean like those scientists that skewed date to "prove" global warming? You people on here that disagree with me, that's your right. Just don't believe everything you read and hear.

You're funny, Cowboy. You think global warming is a hoax and thus second-hand smoke is probably harmless. That's a stellar argument you got there.

Are you saying that smokers have every right to expose children to the thousands of chemicals that are exhaled while smoking a cigarette in their car? You're an idiot.

Government has every right to protect children from child abuse.

Here here! This government oversight is already way beyond ridiculous.

(I only smoke when I drink...and drive).

btw, I am a non-smoker.

As a pack-a-day smoker who wants smoking in bars to be legal again, I totally agree with this. Your bad habits should not harm children. It should be illegal to smoke in a house with children, or even near a park. Smoking is my poor decision, not some kids, and while I'm fine with poisoning myself, I'm not okay with poisoning children.

and you are also fine with poisoning other adults who happen to be in the same bar as you?

What, you don't want lung cancer while you're busy getting liver cirrhosis? A bar is an adult venue where people go to do unhealthy things. If a bar wants to allow smoking, it should be allowed to. That goes both ways; if a bar wants to be non-smoking, it should be the owners decision, and the patrons should respect it.

And as far as smoking in public places (streets, etc), it is something you just have to put up with. I don't own a car or drive, but I have to put up with smelly, cancerous exhaust...you don't see non-drivers clamoring to ban cars, we just have to deal with it.

For the record, I think smoking around children is heinous. I think smoking in general is heinous.

On a side note, I have to address this comment, "I don't own a car or drive, but I have to put up with smelly, cancerous exhaust"

...hmmm... I think you benefit greatly from the presence of motor vehicles in the city, yet you are so holier-than-thou.

So you NEVER, EVER take a taxi or bus? I suppose you grow your own food, make your own clothing out of fabric you weave yourself from local plants, and never buy anything at Duane Reade too, because you would never eat or buy anything that was brought into NYC by truck. Nor do you consume services provided by people who use private car transportation to get to their jobs due to odd hours worked, like doctors or firemen. And I hope you don't need to ride in an ambulance, or have a fire truck or police truck come to your rescue.

No one likes motor vehicle pollution, but it's really unnatural to live in a huge city where all sorts of supplies, food, and labor need to be trucked in and not realize that your mere presence here necessitates it.

Believe me, I am no holier than thou hippie. I take cabs, I take the bus, and I benefit from all the products shipped into the city on 18 wheelers. I'm not discounting their use.

But a large percentage of the cars driven in and around NYC are driven for the exclusive convenience of their owners. Does Long Island cluber need to park his escalade in the crosswalk on a Friday night at 2am so he can get to work? Does a Jag driving executive with his bluetooth headset need to drive 80 blocks because the subway will make him late? They choose to drive, and myself and other pedestrians have to deal with.

But the nice thing about this country is that you don't have to justify why you choose to do something like drive a car, even if it annoys or even potentially endangers other people. And I think that should apply to smoking in open-air public spaces and in privately-owned bars.

If they decide to walk into a smokey barroom and plop down on the barstool next to me, yes. Granted, I usually blow smoke away from them.

Yes! Long-time conscientious smoker here... no smoking in front of the kiddos, the elders and the church congregation. But bring it back to bars, dernit.