The following comes from an August 18 Highland Community News article:
SACRAMENTO – Senate Bill 977 authored by Dr. Richard Pan, and sponsored by the 8th grade class at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Elementary School in Elk Grove passed the California State Assembly today. SB 977 would prohibit the use of tobacco products within 250 feet from a youth sporting event.
“Youth sports is about developing good and healthy habits and smoking is the exact opposite of that,” said Dr. Richard Pan, a pediatrician and Senator representing the Sacramento region. “The students at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Elementary School proved their leadership abilities in sponsoring this important bill and learned important lessons about democracy as they skillfully advocated for the good health of youth athletes and their peers.”
SB 977 would prohibit any person located in the same park or facility where a youth sporting event is taking place, from using tobacco products. The bill specifies that the restriction does not apply to the use of tobacco on private property.
“Tobacco products should be far away from students when they are playing youth sports,” said Elizabeth Hinton, one of the former students at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Elementary School who brought the measure to Dr. Pan. “I was proud to be one of the students who presented the bill to Senator Pan and thrilled when he said he would carry it in the state legislature. Passing this law will send a strong message that smoking isn’t for kids.”
“As a Physical Education and Social Studies Teacher, I am so proud of the St Elizabeth 8th grade class of 2016 who developed the bill idea and worked with Senator Pan this year,” said Susan Earl-Lynn, teacher at St Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School. “How many 8th grade student get to experience government in action? They will remember this opportunity forever.”
Meanwhile, eleven year-olds can get contraception from the school nurse without parental notification, much less consent, and thirteen year-old girls can get abortions without parental notification or consent. Oh, but California is taking a strong stand against tobacco use.
The land of the foolish.
We know that smoking causes cancer and speeds up heart trouble and other illnesses. Yet, our government continues to pay growers in the southeast or helps control the market pricing of the raw product. Yet, we try to make self inflicted early death a wrong thing to do. If suicide for terminal illness is a sin, how is allowing people to smoke, or encouraging kids to smoke through advertising not also a sin. These kids saw the right and acted on it. Most of us believe that you don’t have the right to kill yourself. BTW I smoked for 45 years and it caused all the health problems they said it would.
And now children we return to our regular educational programming, the three R’s: Reparations, Recycling and Reproductive rights.
it is better to smoke here than to smoke hereafter
Please! No more external restrictions.
How about teaching self discipline, the abeyance of gratifications, se;lf sacrifice?
Why would anyone be opposed to this? Except for hypocrites who think being pro-life only means being anti-abortion.
Heaven forbid that we should be proud of our catholic school 8th graders who are learning through this experience the values of health, fitness, citizen engagement, & civics.
Oh the good old days, WHEN just smoking was the worst trouble the kids could get into easily? With all the ‘sinful & bad behavior’ available to influence kids today (much of it from the schools), somehow smoking would not be at the top of my list.
Lordy, lordy. Is there ANYTHING that happens that doesn’t drag out the apoplectic of those who lurk and spew here?
ANYTHING?????
Unfortunately, Jim, not much.
YFC, it is not about opposing this but the hypocrisy of it all. Many of those who would vote for this restriction have no problem with the legalization of marijuana and giving out the birth control pill, which helps destroy the bone structure of adolescent girls, among other ills. I quite smoking regular cigarettes around forty-six years ago through a Twelve Step type prayer, and I still have dreams about smoking, so I know how addictive it is. Luckily, I never used any marijuana or illegal drugs. If we are going to discourage and restrict one, we should restrict the others.
Here’s a few excerpts from Pan’s 2014 Senate campaign website:
“Dr. Pan isn’t just a supporter of reproductive freedom, he is a true champion. In his years in the State Assembly, he has gone above and beyond to promote expanded access to essential health care. Dr. Pan understands what is at stake forwomen and families, and voters know they are getting a leader who will fight for them in Sacramento.” -Amy Everitt, President, NARAL Pro-Choice America
Dr. Pan is proudly endorsed by: Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America, and the Fem Dems of Sacramento.
MY COMMENT: “Doctor” Pan certainly loves children, doesn’t he?
Behind every student political initiative is teacher on the make. I wonder if these kids ever wrote their Assemlyman about Abortion. Doubtful. No grade or self-esteem bump there from Sister Mary Green Thumb or Mr. Toilet-to-Tap.
As to your garden-variety Catholic school student (teachers too?), were you to ask basic Catechism, or just the Ten Commandments, they’d be so baffled they’d trip and fall into their personal recycle bins.