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Unfortunately, some of our elected representatives are discarding these opportunities in favor of using our governmental process to grandstand. Specifically, bills have been introduced to punish individuals for personal choices, penalize businesses for existing in an unpopular industry and even punish an entire community for exercising its right to enact local law through referendum.
Some legislation is a reaction to policy on marijuana, other legislation targets pornography. Personally, I am neither a pot smoker nor a porn patron, but that is irrelevant when it comes to my opposition to such useless legislation. All of the bills addressed here should be below the integrity of the Missouri Legislature because it is beneath the people of Missouri. Simply put, Missourians deserve better.
Senator Chuck Gross of St. Charles wants to punish the City of Columbia because voters there reduced penalties for various marijuana-related offenses. Sen. Gross, through SB 197, wants to use the power of state government to inflict targeted financial harm on one community.
In November, the people of Columbia approved two referendum issues that dealt with drugs. One decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana, provided that the person with it has a doctor's prescription. The other reduced the possession of small amounts of non-prescribed pot to a misdemeanor. This was done to protect young people from potentially losing the ability to obtain financial aid for college because a felony drug conviction erases eligibility for most financial aid programs.
In both cases, the people of Columbia did the right thing. More communities should follow Columbia's lead.
Sen. Gross, a Republican who lives in the suburbs of St. Louis, says this send the wrong message to young people, so his bill would prohibit public grade school or high school sports team from competing in Columbia. Most of Missouri's state sports tournaments are held in Columbia. Conservative estimates indicate that SB 197 would cost Columbia's businesses and city revenues over $5 million per year.
The Missouri Senate should soundly reject SB 197, and Sen. Gross' grandstanding, for three simple reasons that have nothing to do with drugs.
First, this bill is a slap in the face to the voters of Columbia and to the people of Missouri everywhere who cherish the right to participate in government through the election and referendum process. The people of Columbia spoke at the ballot booth; that should be respected. Who is Chuck Gross to presume his opinion should override the will of the people of a city in which he does not live?
Second, SB 197 should be rejected because it represents the arrogance of government at its worst. Government does not exist to "send a message". Government is here to serve the citizens within specific Constitutional restraints and protect our freedom. Government is not here to be our parent.
The third reason Sen. Gross' bill should be rejected is because it places local communities in the position of answering to the state government for the way they choose to run themselves. Government should be as close to those it serves as possible and the legislation Sen. Gross has filed attempts to usurp the proper role of local Aldermen, City Councilmen and County Commissioners.
Sen. Chuck Gross clearly does not like drugs. Neither do I. Sen. Gross believes the power of government should be used recklessly to punish those who disagree with him. I believe individuals have the right to make personal choices that do not harm others. I also believe that local communities should be allowed to run themselves without the threat of interference from state government.
Sen. Bartle's Senate Bill 32 would place a five dollar fee on every occasion someone enters an adult business. In other words, Sen. Bartle wants to place a government cover charge on porn shops. In simpler terms, Senator Bartle wants to make patrons pay for the right to enter the businesses he disapproves of. The Senator also wants to slap a 20% sales tax on sexually-oriented merchandise in the state. He has been open about his desire to use government to run these legal businesses out of business. Legislation like SB 32 has no place in a society that values personal and economic freedom.
Sen. Bartle's bill should be soundly defeated because it specifically targets one industry. While adult entertainment may not be popular, it is rightfully legal. I am not personally a connoisseur of porn, so I choose to not patronize those businesses. Adults who choose to purchase x-rated movies or other items at adult retail stores should not be forced to pay a government-mandated cover to engage in commerce and should not pay a higher sales tax than everyone else.
SB 32 is legislation based on what amounts to a cheap shot against citizens who choose to buy what Sen. Bartle does not want them to have. Obviously, it is unlikely that many patrons of porn shops are going to publicly speak out in defense of their right to spend their money the way they want. This does not diminish their right to engage in the commerce they choose. Sen. Bartle was not elected to make personal moral decisions for Missourians.
Finally, legislation designed to harm unpopular businesses and those who patronize them demonstrates, again, how priorities in government can become out of order. Using government to hand out penalties based on the moral content of activity or products is simply not proper, even when it is popular. Missourians do not answer to Matt Bartle for their personal morality. Sen. Bartle, however, answers to the people of Missouri and we should be asking him tough questions right now about what he feels the role of government is in our lives and what priorities he has for his tenure in the state Senate.
Our state government is facing many serious issues: how do we reign in a runaway Medicaid program? How do we repair some of the worst highways in America? How do we prevent tax hikes and reckless spending that would harm the small businesses that drive our economy?
Republicans now control both chambers of the Legislature and the Governor's office. They have an opportunity to show Missouri that they are serious about backing up their campaign rhetoric of lower taxes, economic freedom and reduced governmental intrusion into our personal lives. They have no room for excuses if they fail in these goals.
In 2005, we will see if the Republican-led state government is serious about making Missouri a better place or if trivial grandstanding like that of Sens. Gross and Bartle will be allowed to distract from making Missouri a better, freer place.