Beginning Feb. 1, 2008, the state of Maryland joins 20 other states to enact politically correct state-wide smoking bans. No one will be able to smoke in an indoor area open to the public, including places where alcohol is served, which previously had been exempted in Maryland.

State lawmakers passed the Clean Indoor Air Act of 2007 on the session’s final day, after agreeing to strip business owners of their rights and denying American veterans the right to smoke in the privacy of organizations they belong to such as American Legion halls.

How long will it be before American veterans who risked their lives for the rights that are now being denied them, begin to take seriously the oath they took to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States from enemies, both foreign and domestic?

Government lawmakers believe they have the moral authority and right to forcibly impose their fascist restrictions on smoking and to prevent adults from smoking in private bars and restaurants, even though no bar owner can force someone to patronize his establishment.

"It’s ridiculous," bar owner, Gene Dillard said. "Maryland isn’t the free state anymore. The state is taking our personal choice away from us. I just don’t understand it. We elect somebody and all of a sudden, they think that they’re smarter than you are."

We know who the domestic enemies of our freedoms are and it's long past time to stand up and defend our rights. I'm afraid that if we don't defend our rights at the ballot box, the time will come that Americans will once again be forced to defend their rights at the end of a barrel.

As free Americans, we cannot continue to allow a cabal of legislators to force their nanny state controls onto private businesses while threatening extensive fines and harassment from the government.

It's time to remove Gov. Martin O'Malley, Delegate Dereck Davis, D-Prince George's, Sen. Rob Garagiola, D-Montgomery, and other enemies of the Constitution from office.

Sadly, there are far too many people in this country that simply don't really care about the immorality and tyrannical legislation being foisted on us, so long as it doesn't impact them. We cannot continue to allow otherwise perfectly intelligent people who apparently just don't care that the state has absolutely no business dictating the terms of use of private property, to remain unscathed. If you believe that allowing government to trample "other" people's freedoms somehow exempts you from the consequences of such heavy-handedness, invariably the day will come the state will seize what you hold dear.