(TheConservativeTimes.org) – In the United States, 11 different states have banned smoking in the car with a child, and Virginia is talking about being the next one.
West Virginia has spoken out about banning smoking in the car with children. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the state with the highest amount of adult smokers in the nation is West Virginia.
The West Virginia Senate passed a bill targeting individuals who were caught smoking in a car with a child or had a lit tobacco product, resulting in fines. “Children” are identified as anyone 16 years or younger. The House of Delegates will be the next stop for this bill after passing the Senate with a 25-8 vote.
Tom Takubo, who is a doctor-turned-lawmaker, promised to try to ban smoking in vehicles with children because of a previous patient of his. The patient was not a smoker themselves but they were in the car with their dad when he smoked and this caused the patient to lose half of her lung. Takubo mentioned that when the father of the patient was smoking “she had to climb down to the bottom of the car and put her head underneath the seat.”
Anyone who violates the law will be charged with a misdemeanor and a fine of $25, which is the maximum, but according to the bill it has to be a secondary offense and not the reason why the person was pulled over in the first place.
Senator Mike Azinger has spoken out against the bill saying that it’s unfair. “The arguments for the bill are essentially emotional arguments…This is a cut at the fundamental rights of parents making a decision over their children in their vehicle. This is a state going where it has no business going.”
Copyright 2024, TheConservativeTimes.org
