Here we go again:

Condominium owners tell smokers: Take it outside

Residents of a tony, high-rise condominium along the Mississippi River in Minneapolis are among the first to vote to make their building smoke-free, taking Minnesota’s battle over smoking bans into private homes.

The rule, at La Rive Condominiums near St. Anthony Main, covers individual units, common areas, garages and private balconies. Current owners who want to smoke will be grandfathered in, but future buyers will have to abide by the rule.

Opponents say the ban is an intrusion into private property rights that could hurt resale prospects at a time when the market is already soft. Supporters counter that, not only do they have a right to breathe clean air, but nonsmoking potential buyers will see going smoke-free as a plus.

“Just as we have seen business [use bans], we’re now seeing homeowners and landowners of apartment buildings and condominiums deciding that they don’t want their property to have smoking on it either,” said Doug Blanke, director of the Tobacco Law Center at the William Mitchell College of Law.

OK, while they may not be the first, as Seattle already banned smoking in their Housing Authority Units, they are one of the first that is taking the action as a private homeowners organization.

Now, I am showing my bias here, because I personally believe Homeowners associations to be an elitist, oppressive and disgusting abuse of power.  But remove “who” made the ban in this case, and look at the bans themselves and you will see that there is still plenty of things to object to about them.

The ban on smoking is a fast growing movement, with only 18 states having no bans at all.  It is clear that the bans will continue to grow, and there will be more and more oppression of individual rights.

Now.  Let me qualify things right now and say that I have no love for smoking.  I quit in 1991 and since several relatives have been diagnosed with Lung Cancer.  I personally don’t like smoking and I think that anyone who starts smoking in this age is a complete idiot.