About police stops:
It's like a double edge sword, it cuts both ways. You want to be left alone by the police but you want to be left alone by the criminals too. The police are unable to catch the criminals if we keep their hands tied. If we make stop and search rules more lenient, then we get complaints from citizens and the ACLU as in this article.
ACLU Questions Random NOPD Stops - Local News - New Orleans, LA - News - msnbc.com
About smoking:
It's widely recognized that there have to be rules to keep restaurants from putting toxic chemicals in the food that we eat. They are allowed to keep many toxic chemicals in the restaurant but in a safe place where they can not get into the food they serve. It would be foolish to state that " a restaurant should be allowed to serve food with toxic ingredients and if a diner doesn't like it then he should go eat somewhere else".
The same rule should apply to cigarettes. Restaurants should not allow toxic smoke to be in the air we breathe. It is the same as allowing toxic chemicals in the food they serve. Telling people to go work or eat in a different restaurant that does not serve toxic food or make you breathe toxic air is not the answer.
Banning cigarette smoking everywhere is not the answer either.
I feel that a restaurant, bar, etc. should be able to allow smoking inside if they are able to properly remove the smoke from the air that the people breathe just as restaurants are able to store toxic chemicals as long as they make sure they are not in the food the diners eat.
There are many fresh air alternatives available to commercial establishments to insure that their air remains clean. It is more expensive to provide clean air but the cost can be passed on to the customers who wish to smoke in the establishments.
Just as the health inspector inspects the restaurant for contaminated food and shuts it down if he finds violations, he can also check the air quality and do the same.
There are NO rules, laws, or ordinances that will make everyone happy because every one of them restricts someone from doing something that they want to do that others don't want them to do. But rules are what separates man from the animal kingdom. Rules are civilization!