I came across this somewhere in cyberspace and it amused me greatly. The writer does forget that " possess anywhere, anytime" is no longer valid- thanks to alcohol and tobacco free zones.
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I know it's hard to believe, but as a free American, I still enjoy the following rights:
The right to buy cigarettes.
The right to possess cigarettes, anywhere and at any time.
The right to keep and bear cigarettes, a right which exists no matter where I am, because cigarettes are actually legal.
The right even to brandish cigarettes.
It's the brandishing which most fascinates me, because it's as legal as it is inflammatory in nature. Considering the general disgust I feel for the anti-smoking movement (especially its more pompous manifestations), I think there might even be a First Amendment right to brandish cigarettes as a form of political free speech expression.
How far can cigarette brandishing go? Is there a legal definition of smoking? Clearly, there's a slippery slope somewhere, but certainly brandishing the pack is not smoking. Nor is tapping the pack.
How about pulling out an individual cigarette and tapping it?
Putting it in your mouth? Is that smoking? Sorry, but without fire, there can be no smoke.
What about pulling out a pack of matches? Getting ready to strike one? Actually striking a match? How close does the match have to get to the cigarette before we can call it "smoking."
Can there be such an offense as attempted smoking? And even if the attempt requires intent to smoke, could deliberate cigarette brandishing in publicly marked "NO SMOKING" areas be considered disturbing the peace? If so, why?
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