Smoking Ban

Okay here's my take on this and I'll warn you, it's going to get a little thick.

I voted against both smoking bills. One was to create a smoking ban in all public places, the other was to create an amendment that exempted bars and restaurants and whatnot, but created a statewide ban in most public places.
Personally I'm against the smoking ban, and smoking has nothing to do with it. It has to do with choices. Every time the State of Ohio or the federal government passes a law that restricts something that the public actively engages in I think it's wrong. To be honest, any law that is created that doesn't somehow protect an instance of one person purposely harming another I believe it's unnecessary.
The government has a lot to deal with in keeping emergency response teams up to the task and ensuring that business is run ethically and providing fail-safes for it's citizens in need. We don't need to waste legislation and prosecution in the courts with frivolity like whether or not people can smoke in a bar. It's the same for me on abortion. I don't care if you're pro-choice or not, the government has no reason to make a federal or statewide law deciding that issue. We don't need laws on marriage, other than any granted benefits of the union of those two people. The restrictions should fall on the religious or secular organization that provides marriage licenses. If the catholic church doesn't want gay marriage, their priests shouldn't be forced to perform those ceremonies. I don't believe in controlled substance laws. I don't believe in sin taxes. I don't believe in anything that declares one lifestyle choice better or more accepted than another.
I think that society should be able to respect itself enough to respect its individuals. We probably need three laws.
Don't kill anybody.
Don't steal from anybody.
And don't lie on public record.
What else is necessary? Nothing. So why do we have so many laws? Because people don't have the decency to respect one another. Along with that, people don't have the self respect to let sleeping dogs lie. When someone disagrees with you, it doesn't need to be settled in court, it can be settled between you and that person. But there's the rub. We don't have a society of just people anymore. We have corporations and non-profit entities that in our current system are viewed as individuals in our legal system. I think that's wrong. I think any business has someone or several people responsible for it's actions. I think those folks should be held accountable or be allowed to make the decisions on what's best for the corporation. Hell those folks make the most money in an organization, why shouldn't they be responsible for it's actions? IF a corporation goes bankrupt, the CEO shouldn't be paid. I don't believe necessarily that the CEO should have to pay out grievances to it's debtors, the company assets should be taken for what their worth as the finality of the bankruptcy. However funds such as company run pensions and insurance should be paid out to employees to the extent that they contributed to it. Those funds should never be considered assets. On that note if Social Security is going to last, it's moneys shouldn't be borrowed from by the general budget. It shouldn't be tapped for social programs, it should be a simple account that Americans contribute to and is paid out under the original agreements. On that, I think Social Security should be a choice. IF you don't want to pay into it, you don't have to, but your benefits will reflect that. IF you don't ever pay in, you don't ever receive benefits.
I know it can't all be that simple and I am speaking very generically, but I think that part of the problem with people trusting politics and people trusting to be involved in civic responsibilities has a lot to do with complexities that confuse the ordinary person. Everyone should know the law because it should be so simple that it's almost human nature. This doesn't solve everything, as many public services(schools, police, etc.) require law to grant money from taxes or to create standards and procedures for how these services are run and budgeted. On the whole though, particular with criminal law and civil law, I feel that removal of frivolity and specifics would solve a lot of confusion and make for a better system overall.

And a little closer to the Utopia of Anarchy.