The government is not my mother

The state Legislature is attempting to regulate how Texans live their private lives.

It is looking at smoking, sex and drinking.

More restrictions are being proposed for the first two and less for the third.

In the case of smoking, lawmakers are considering a statewide ban.

Their argument is that it is a public health issue and needs to be banned for the good of all Texans. They are also trying to raise the minimum age to buy tobacco from 18 to 19.

If they want to raise the minimum age to buy tobacco, then they’d better raise the minimum age to serve in the military also. The minimum age to enlist is 18 years old, and if you’re old enough to be sent off to fight for your country, then you’re old enough to buy cigarettes.

As for the argument that Texans need to have the government stick its nose in our personal lives and tell us not to smoke, I thought that was what my mother was for.

Now, onto sex.

The House has already approved a new tax on sexually oriented businesses that charge admission like strip clubs, adult movie theaters and adult video clubs. The tax would force these businesses to pay 10 percent on entry fee gross receipts, replacing the $5 per person “pole tax” approved in 2007. An Austin court has ruled the $5 charge violates a constitutionally protected right of expression.

How is this not like the pole tax the Legislature passed before?

This new tax could raise as much as $8 million a year in revenue for the state. It’s a way for the government to dissuade people from going to those establishments and make money off of those who still choose to do so.

The state can’t have it both ways. If it’s going to allow these businesses to run, then it needs to let them, not burden them with extra taxes that will inevitably hurt their industry.

In the case of alcohol, the Legislature is actually considering loosening restrictions. Lawmakers have proposed to lift the blue law ban that prohibits the sale of distilled liquor on Sundays.

Why is the government regulating all of this in the first place?

Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, believes it’s the responsibility of the state to regulate for the good of the public.

“Policy should be about encouraging good behavior,” Burnam said. “Regulation is an easy, shorthand way that behavior the general public disapproves of can be addressed.”

The last time I checked, my smoking, drinking and sex habits were my own personal business.

Citizens’ personal lives should not be privy to government regulation. Period.

Published in The Collegian May 6, 2009.