To the editor:

Tolerance, diversity: These are qualities I have long valued in Lawrence, but they seem to be threatened at present.

Let me say that I am a nonsmoker and that I feel the general public should be able to go about their lives without exposure to secondhand smoke. They should be safe from it in stores, in malls and in fast-food restaurants, where many people take little children.

That being said, I think it is simply wrong for the City Commission to treat smokers and bar owners as second-class citizens. Cigarettes are a legal product, and the “sin taxes” that users of tobacco and alcohol must pay for them actually fund many public amenities. I have been troubled by the vindictive, self-righteous, and even hateful tone that many letter-writers in support of a complete smoking ban take toward their fellow citizens.

No one is forced to patronize a bar or restaurant that permits smoking, and even in a bad economy, jobs for waitstaff can be found in nonsmoking establishments. Those who opt to work in places that allow smoking are exercising their rights to choose, unfettered by protective “nanny” legislation.

If our commissioners are sincerely concerned about every worker’s welfare, if they are not just caving in to a self-appointed “health police” element, will they have the nerve to shut down the Granada and The Bottleneck? After all, it is a documented fact that repeated exposure to band music causes measurable hearing loss. Will they care if bartenders at local nightclubs go deaf? ( I don’t see how they can protect the musicians from themselves though!)

Nan Scott,

Lawrence