The initiative has reached the required signature threshold in 15 countries, with Germany and France – the two largest – expected to follow suit.
The initiative has reached the required signature threshold in 15 countries, with Germany and France – the two largest – expected to follow suit.
Frankly if people are petitioning the government en masse to allow babies to smoke, I think the government should at least seriously consider it. Democracy isn’t just for when ideas are good.
By that I mean that such petitions shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand, I don’t think that babies should be allowed to smoke, unless they can make cool smoke rings.
That’s what representatives are for, they hear the public and form a committee of experts, who then say no that’s insane, then we either go fuck ourselves or we riot. At some point down the line absolutely nobody’s happy, and that’s how you know you’re in a healthy democracy.
I mean ideally any proposed law would go to referendum if there’s a popular enough petition for or against.
There does have to be a formal process to make sure the voters are being asked a question that is sane to begin with, and not merely being offered the chance to wreck their economy on behalf of moneyed interests. It’s a truism that when the questions are insane, the answers don’t matter. Whether it’s Brexit or smoking babies, there’s always an issue with vested interests having their own say on the matter.