Well, I'm with you on drunk drivers, and child abuse (which afaic is one of the worst crimes I can think of), but I'm more ambivalent on smokers. Just as long as they don't follow me around, I don't care if they smoke (unless they smoke around their children, which is child abuse). I'm not a big fan of non-smoking restaurant and bar laws. I'm an adult, and I can easily choose where I want to eat or drink, or not. Given a vote, I'd vote against such laws, but we have them, and I'm certainly not interested in crusading to change them.

Yeah, child abuse is really low on my list. Actually, animal abuse comes close. My younger brother and his wife are part of an animal rescue program. When I hear stories about people physically abusing animals, it makes me furious.

It's funny that you mention restaurant/bar laws (which recently started in the Philadelphia area). My wife and I have talked to restaurant servers, bartenders, and night managers, all of whom said they're very happy about the new laws. It never occured to me that before the laws kicked in, restaurant employees didn't have the freedom to avoid the smoking areas the way non-smoking customers do. Not only are they glad that the entire serving area is smoke-free, but they also say that business increased after the laws kicked in.

I realize that I have strong personal prejudices against smoking, but I'm proud to be part of the pink lung society. I give my sister-in-law a steady dose of grief about her smoking, though she keeps coming back with this "I'll get fat if I quit" answer.