A smoke-free act death from NYC
This was posted to me from my favorite bar owner from the RAVEN in NYC:

The first causality of NYC's Smoke Free Air Act has died. He was a bouncer in the East Village and he was stabbed to death on Saturday night trying to uphold the city's new ban on smoking.

His name was Dana Blake, a kind and gentle fellow who was a friend of the neighborhood children. A shinning example of what being a good New Yorker is all about. He was stabbed in the abdomen and one his arteries were ripped open. It took him 12 hours to die. One can only imagine his agony. And for what? Telling some jerk to put out a cigarette! Can our elected officials look themselves in the mirror and say that his death was worth it? For shame.

Despite all the warnings about the possible problems that this law would create, the mayor and the city council never considered these consequences when they proposed and passed the Smoke Free Air Act. Was his life worth it? What can the mayor say to Dana Blake's grieving family? They've got his blood on their hands for sure. New York City has created a horrific situation for many of us in the hospitality industry. We now are forced to confront people and refuse them service for doing something that only a month ago was perfectly legal. The mayor and the city council don't have to deal with this. We in the hospitality industry have to deal with this everyday.

How many more incidents like this have to occur? When in their mind will this violence no longer be justified? I'll never understand the logic behind these antismokers and their campaign for a smoking ban. On the one hand they say that all hospitality workers have a right to breath clean air.And yet when it comes to any other aspect of a hospitality workers rights , the right to earn a decent living, the right of having a safe work environment, the right to live through their shift, they turn a blind eye and a deaf ear. The mayor promised that the Smoke Free Air Act would save 1,000 lives a year in NYC.

So far it has cost NYC one life.

Can we honestly say that it was worth it?