" I like the idea that this law is looking out for the health of children, but I'm not sure that enforcement of such a law is legal.

After all, couldn't a similar law be passed about the volume of car stereos with children in the car? And why does it stop with the car? Couldn't we then pass a law that adults cannot smoke in a home with children under 16?

I have personal convictions about the scenarios above, but legislating those convictions seems problematic when contrasted with individual freedoms. "

" the others in the car also smoke? I know it said those who were under the age of 16 but I'm sorry to say that there are kids out there smoking who are under 16 years of age. "

" Waste of time and money by the "nanny" Government. "

" Should it be more important that we are smoking in our car or that our child is buckled in? I think that is something that is out of the control of the govenment. What's next? It seems that more and more of our rights are taken away all the time. Is this still America?! What's next?!!! "

" How about a fine for eating fast food in a car with children present. I would say fast food has to be just as bad for children as smoking, and both of them are still legal. My gosh, how many ways can this unicam come up with to raise revenue. Let's see--talking on a cell phone, drinking from a can of pop, putting on makeup, talking to another person in your car, not wearing sunglasses when driving into the direction of the sun. Come on Ms. Howard-- I'm sure you can come up with some more. We have to tackle this tax shortfall somehow. "

" I think this is a wonderful law and I wish they would make the fine stiffer. It should be against the law to make a child breathe the smoke in the confines of a vehicle. "

" Should be fun to watch the comments on this story. LOL.

If there's one thing I know, it's that smokers love their cancer. "

" About time, but the consequences when caught are pretty minor. "Sure officer I'll take the course to stop smoking and get my fine refunded, but I'm selfish so I'll continue to light up around my kids anyway." If you can't make people quit drinking by making them take an alcohol treatment program after DUI's, how are you supposed to have them quit smoking? I say make the fines permanent and make them go up every time they get caught. Now if only we could make it illegal to smoke around kids all the time, including personal residences, that would be a major step forward. The mother of my step-daughters, ages 3, 8 and 13, and her boyfriend smoke in the home and car around the kids all the time and then she wonders why they have coughs, runny noses, ear infections and get pink eye. My husband has repeatedly asked her to not smoke around the girls and it does no good. The girls can't escape it, and they can't do anything to stop it from happening, but they're sick of it, too. Everytime the 13 year old comes to our house she wants me to wash everything because she says it stinks. People, stop being selfish and think of your kids. Just because you choose to have this filthy disgusting habit does not mean you should force your kids to be a part of it. BTW, I voted AGAINST the smoking ban. I think you should be able to smoke in bars and restaurants, but you should think twice about doing it at home or anywhere else for that matter around your kids. "

" I think this is a wonderful bill. An added bonus would be to tack on a jail sentence for the offenders for endangering the lives of the children. "

" This would be fantastic. I can's stand it when I see a little kid sitting in the back seat of a car with the window rolled down just enough for the "adult" to flick their cig out side. Smoke rollin around inside and that poor little kid not knowing any different. I hope to God that this gets passed. Stop those loosers from shortening a little ones life! "

" nanny state, nanny state! Pretty soon you'll get a ticket if your precious little snowflake somehow gets a whiff of cigarette smoke, damaging their virgin lungs. "

" Not smoking with kids in the car would have to involve some level of consideration....many smokers are considerate of kids and others in their cars...or around them...but those that aren't considerate of others won't stop even if the law were passed.

Smoking is YOUR choice...not everybody elses! "

" At what point do we just hand over the kids at birth to be raised in a safe, government created evironment? God gave us brains, how about we use them instead of letting the government enforce our good behavior? You see someone endangering a kid, muster up some courage to confront them yourself. And If you're a nosy, holier-than-thou, pain in the butt, you may learn a few things yourself. "

" Where was all of this concern when I was a kid????? We used to drive from Chicago to Nebraska every summmer to see my Gramma. Every Christmas I would ask for a gas mask to make the trip bearable. "

" I support LB93. Will it make double for more then 2 kids in the car? "

" Yep, I agree don't smoke around your kids! Realistically, how many people are going to pay to participate in program to get a fine refunded? It won't make people quit smoking.
It's kind of disturbing how intrusive the government is becoming. "

" The comments on this are ridiculous and show a lot of ignorance about the health threats of smoking and an overstatement of what it means to have rights. Smoking is much more dangerous than fast food (after all, eating a fry doesn't cause the person next to you in the car to get cancer). And your rights end where the rights of others begin (like your child's right to grow up healthy and not be victimized by your unhealthy habits). After all, children can't make their parents stop smoking--other adults have to protect them. That is not the "nanny" state as some have complained--it is the role of the state to protect citizens, especially those who cannot protect themselves.

I think parents should be accountable--after all, having children is a choice and they deserve the best start in life--not one filled with unnecessary health problems because of the bad habits of their parents. "

" This type of Bill is very long over due!!!

Senator Gwen Howard....you are my hero of the week!

Kids should not be couped up in a vehicle with a smoker....someone is desperately needed to be "the voice," for the children who have no voice.

Good Lord, how can anyone (mainly parents) claim to love their children,
and then turn around (smoking in a vehicle) and slowly kill them....
I sincerely do not understand the logic.

Thanks for listening!! "

" Hey, why stop there! New York State recently passed a law prohibiting the use of butter by restaurants in the meals they serve. Enough already with P.C. laws.......if she wants to help kids, she needs to put all of her efforts into fixing our broken foster care system here in Nebraska. "

" Well said-I too think people should be able to smoke in bars, and I do not smoke. Although it is SO nice not to completely wreak of the smell when you come out, I have to admit. However, smoking right in front of your kids is TERRIBLE and not a good example for them at all. Do as I say, not as I do parenting is not good parenting at all. Control your urges for a little bit, or if you're that selfish, PULL OVER and smoke. Seriously people. "

" While no one should be smoking with a child anywhere around them this is a bunch of garbage. Next you will want to go house to house and inspect to be sure that no one is smoking around their children in their own home.

This is just another way for cops and government in general to find justification to pull people over and intrude in personal lives. I get a real kick out of people who think laws like this are a good idea. Laws are fickle. What was acceptable yesterday is suddenly illegal today. Don't worry, the government is going to take care of you because you're too ignorant to take care of yourself.

You may think that you like a law like this but every one of them chips away at your freedoms just a little bit more. This one may not affect you but the next one might.

Just because something is illegal doesn't make it wrong and just because something isn't illegal doesn't make it right. Personal responsibility people! Remember what that is?

I have to go now. I'll be in my house waiting for the surprise inspection by the "Brown Shirts". I've got some Twinkies in my pantry that are endangering my children. I may need to be sent for re-education. "

" I grew up with a mom who smoked in the car. Do not think that it is good for anybodys health. Not to mention when she did flick the ashes out the window most of them ended up in the back seat. "

" Why can't people see this issue for what it really is? It's about protecting the health of children...not about taking away rights or finding revenue! If people want to give themselves cancer or emphysema or COPD that's their choice, but they shouldn't have the right to poison children too. "

" heck yeah! About time this was a law! It drives me nuts when I see adults endangering the health of a child... and I don't want to hear you whine... "This is a free country". Because you're right. It is a free country, but it's also not a lawless country where you can do whatever you want regardless of those around you. Stop being so selfish and think of your children. I'm sure most of you are good parents, but you're so addicted to the cancer stick that it may be the one area where you are really failing your kids. And I'm sure some of you are just bad parents all around. The point is, this is for the health of your children. Stop the selfishness. Stop the whining. Act responsibly. "

" WOW is this going to far or what? Is this big brother at its finest Or maybe it is a fishing expedition for more tax money. It is NONE of the governments business if i perform a perfectly legal act in the car, one i can perform in my own home, if any child is present. I am not a big proponent of smoking but at some point we have to allow people to use their own judgment. If we as citizens (not some senator looking for face time in the paper) are so concerned with our children being exposed to second hand smoke then lets get rid of the tobacco companies who are the sellers of the offending product. "

" this would just be another way the cops to stop for no reason "

" I think this would be wonderful. I'm so tired of smokers wanting to smoke their legal product so bad & exercise their "right" to do so around others who don't want it around them - especially poor, innocent children who cannot escape it! I know, because I am the child of a smoker who could care less about his health or others around him. Smokers (especially older smokers) just think this is the way they were raised & "they turned out alright" so why not carry on the tradition that has sometimes been passed down from parents & grandparents. They cannot deal with change, even if it benefits someone else's life, they still think their right to smoke wherever they want should outweigh that! Ridiculous! "

" How will they know if there is a kid in the car? Most cars now days have tinted windows. "

" Let me start off by saying that smoking is an ugly habit and i by noe means condone smoking... but seriously how many laws are they going to make. We have more rules and laws to live by and we are supposed to be considered a "free" country. HARDLY.
If the smokes are so bad just outlaw them. Oh yeah, we cant because if it was never for tobacco then the US would have never came to be, as it was the crop that allowed the Colonies to support themselves in early trade. It is a bunch of crap.
I am tired of the politician being high and mighty and telling everyone how they should live when if you look at the records of most of them they live a less law biding life than the rest of society. "

" It's about time. Kid's have no choice but to breathe in the car and are being forced to inhale smoke. They have Ipods and other things to listen to if they don't like the radio station or music in the car. There is a choice there but you have no choice but to breathe. It's harmful and unfair for adults to make them a part of their habit. I say way to go and pray this passes asap. "

" So it's that time of year with the Legislature: everyone has to come up with some kind of bill to put before the unicameral. How do they plan to waste the time and money of hard working Nebraskans this year? Could they maybe find something meaningful?

I don't know about y'all, but I'd rather have a smoking driver who has a modicum of calmness than a potential case of road rage because a kid is crying in the back seat, and the driver REALLY wants a smoke, but doesn't want to get stopped by a cop.

To Poster YES -- Give it a rest already! The kids will survive. I'm in my 60's, and I remember hating it when my folks smoked in the car, but I lived through it; they weren't "(Stop those loosers from) shortening a little ones life! " My parents were fine people with a quality life style. You can't judge against people to be loosers just because they smoke. Loosers are those who aren't strong enough to live their own lives and leave everyone else the freedom live their lives as well. I wonder if any of these "well meaning" senators ever had a vice at all. "

" I, too think it's a good law. I do worry about our personal liberties being taken away, but we also have to look at the greater good. The childseat law is in place because children can't look out for themselves, so it is up to adults to do that. I think the same could be said for not smoking around children in cars (and in homes for that matter, but at least a house is not as small and confined a space as a car). I agree it will be tough to enforce, but that's not reason enough not to consider it.

For those of you who are going to cry that there is no evidence second-hand smoke harms anyone, consider this. My mother smokes, and every time my family and I go to visit her, within 24 all of us are stuffed up, coughing, sneezing, and blowing our noses. That is NO coincidence. "

" What is sad is that we even need a law to tell people that what they are doing to the children is wrong. You would think they would put their kids above themselves, but they don't. Gripe all you want about the 'Nanny' government, but sometimes the only way to get through to thick headed people is through their wallet. "

" Yet another misguided comparison to fast food...how terribly predictable.

First off, fast food, while not always healthy, is still FOOD...a source of nourishment for our bodies. A person can live a healthy lifestyle and consume the occasional fast food burger. Second, there is no such thing as 'secondhand calories'...eating around a child doesn't make them fatter. Third, eating excessive amounts of fast food make cause someone to become overweight...but that person can correct their weight issues with improved diet and exercise, and most people would never even knew they had a weight issue.

Cigarettes, when used as intended, kill the consumer. It provides no nourishment to the body, but rather, provides the body with poison and a little nicotine to satisfy the addiction of weak-willed individuals. Secondhand smoke and it's lethal effects are well documented, even by the cigarette companies...which is why they put that little warning on the side of the package (trust me, it's there). Finally, cigarettes cause irreparable harm...you can't undo the damage done by cigarette smoke and the toxic chemicals and carcinogens it contains...you just plain CAN'T.

Now, that said...kids may learn unhealthy eating habits from their parents, but they can also learn healthy eating habits at school, online, or on TV. So if they have a weight issue, they can learn how to correct it...you can't learn cancer away, or emphysema, or other chronic lung conditions brought on by exposure to cigarette smoke.

BTW, as far as the references to distracted driving goes, they already have laws against that. While some may think it's okay to strip years off of the life of a child, common sense (a modern-day artifact) SHOULD tell us all otherwise. "

" You've got to be kidding me? Let's get realistic here. Failure to have your child properly restrained is only a $25 fine and more kids are at risk of permanent injury or death from a collision than 2nd hand smoke while in the vehicle. What a joke! Fix the old laws on the books before bringing in new "Big Brother" laws. Get your priorities straight Senators! "

" Based on the numbers of people I see driving around town with a cig between their lips and kids in the back seat, the City coffers should begin to fill quickly if the cops can pull people over for this offense alone. It shouldn't be hard to find additional violations to tack on and get those fines a rollin' in! Of course I don't see this bill going too far... Nice try freshman senators but really, there are more pressing matters and if you guys call it quits early like you are talking about doing, then you best get amovin' on the more important matters as time is already running short! "

" With economic problems & tax shortfalls approaching here is one Senator that refuses to see the potential impending big picture by introducing bills to waste taxpayer money. There are already laws on the books that can be applied to this, but yet another bill to make that warm fuzzy feel good approach. Lets get real and down to earth and start solving problems this state will be entering into. "

" Ernie Chambers when you need him? "

" I had to endure years of my mother smoking in the car. Luckily she has since quit. However, I remeber how terrible it would be to be in the car when she was smoking. I had to put my sleve up to my nose to not choke on the stench. People who don't think smoking in a car with children is a problem is either selfish or delusional. There is a reason nannies exit, you know! "

" Oh Lordy here we go. Didn't we learn our lesson last time? We need to limit it to children under 30 days old. Otherwise we'll get flooded with kids from other states that don't have this law and want to escape the smoke. "

" "Unlike the state’s seat belt law, where drivers can’t be pulled over for not wearing seat belt, police could pull over cars in which occupants were smoking and kids were inside."

Ponder this, an officer sees a child in the car and is given the latitude to stop you to determine if the child is in fact over/under the legal age. Our officers are busy people and there are a few that are badge heavy and this creates a potential for abuse of power.

"Show me your papers comrade. I also need the certified birth certificate for each child in your automobile." "

" Does this mean the cops are going to be wasting their time (and the drivers) for pulling over every vehicle in which they see someone smoking? How else are they going to tell if there is a child in there? "

" Why can't people see this issue for what it really is? It's about protecting the health of children...not about taking away rights! If people want to give themselves cancer or emphysema or COPD that's their choice, but they shouldn't have the right to poison children too. Just look around when you're at a stop light, its obvious some people need help making the right choice. The children of Nebraska deserve this! "

" Good lord, stop it already!!!! I grew up with 3 smokers in my family (mother, dad and brother) and I've never smoked a day in my life. I lived in the house with them and in the car with them. I even worked my first job with a smoker that blew smoke in my face every day for years. I don't have cancer and am healthy as a horse. I am sick and tired of the smoking/food, etc. police coming after people. THIS IS A LEGAL PRODUCT! Leave people alone or ban it. Enough already. "

" Thank you to all who voted her in to office. This is fantastic! Please forward her address to me so once this bill passes she can start making my car payments, paying my insurance primiums, babysitting for me when I want to have a cigarette, cooking everynight for my family so we can always have proper nutrition..... I think you get my point. This is still America, isn't it? "

" what about all the kids that have to live in a smokey home? when i take my kids to school in the morning there are a few kids that are in the class that reak of smoke. can the teachers write up a ticket to the parents also? "

" This is a much needed bill. Smoking in a car or at home with kids should be considered child abuse / neglect. A stiffer fine is needed though. Watch the intelligent comments on this come in from the smoking crowd who will compare second-hand smoke to fast food and drinking. The reasoning of smokers is quite comical. "

" what about the fumes from auto exhaust those poor kids are breathing? "

" What about a pipe? Can I smoke my pipe while my teenager is in the car with me?

...and who honestly believes pink-eye is smoking related, one fry doesn't give you cancer but one cigarette does, and that more and more intrusive gov't is a good idea. Why not have a law that any vehicle on the road can only be two years old or less, or that you can only legally be outside of your home between the hours of 7am-8pm in order to cut down on crime?!! Gimmie a Break! "

" The arrogance of smokers will finally cost them. Smokers have spent decades breeding militantly anti-smoking children. People think that smoking is a right. Those children are finally of voting age and will be the first to dance on that right's grave. "

" I watched this bill during the last legislative session only to see it go nowhere. I want to see this bill passed simply because it would then be "on the books" and I would feel as though I at least had a leg to stand on when yelling at people for smoking with small children in the car. Believe it or not people, there are so-called grown-ups who don't have the sense to not smoke in their cars with small children and when one of those small children happens to be my Grandson, you can bet I'll be yelling!!! Let's pass this bill!!! "

" As a former smoker of more than 40 years, I can understand the "logic" of this bill, but I believe it is also unconstitutional. I'm sure a lot of people who have never smoked will jump on this bandwagon, giving no thought to the rights of other people -- whether those other people smoke or not.

As one person asked, "What's next? Drinking pop from a can, not wearing sunglasses when facing the sun, or other such stupid infringements on the rights of PRIVATE citizens. If this bill is made into law, next it will be a crime to smoke in your own house, or back yard.

My question for these "law"makers is what's next -- fining a female for not wearing her bra, using a cheap brand of toilet paper instead of a name brand, buying nothing but Diet Pepsi instead of other soda products?

Forcing another person's opposing beliefs for or against a preference is wrong and should not be made into law. "

" Ok, first off, I'm not a smoker, never have been & I don't believe in smokers doing so around their kids & ruining their health. However, that being said, this bill is way too NANNY state - even for Nebraska. The gov't needs to get out of our lives, not more into them. "

" What a waste of time debating this isssue. I can't beleive such a topic is worth mentioning with such bigger issues (property taxes, job creation, etc.)on the table. This is what happens when inexperienced law makers are sent to the legistlature. "

" Seriously? With all the problems this state is facing and this is her shot at making a difference? I'd be ashamed if I had voted for this nutcase. "

" This is really going to far. Before this we should outlaw smoking in the state as a whole. I don't smoke and shouldn't be affected by the smoke of someone smoking in scottsbluff.

Question. Isn't it illegal to buy cigarretts if you are under 18, isn't it then illegal to smoke if you are under 18. If we do not enforce this law, why would we need another and if we do, the age should be 18 not 16.

Shouldn't the government be telling us what kind of toys to buy, autos to buy, clothes to wear?

She sounds like the typical idiot government official. Now that we know she is so stupid, remember to not reelect her next term. "

" Good idea - I remember so many car trips as a kid, before we knew smoking was harmful, feeling choked up in the air blue with smoke (one relative even smoked a cigar in the car), feeling carsick and being generally miserable. This law would prevent other kids from going through such as that, plus protect their long-term health. I would qualify smoking in the car today as intentional child abuse. "

" How about we fix our broken foster care system AND punish parents for endangering the lives of their children. Come to think of it, it's probably parents like this (that smoke in the car with their children) that end up having their children turned over to foster care. If they don't care about their children's health, they shouldn't have kids! "

" is that tobacco causes cancer. tobacco is legal. If you choose to use tobacco you most likely will get cancer.

What the government should do if they want to restrict tobacco (smoke and smokeless) use is:
1) make tobbaco users register to smoke
2) once identified as a tobbaco user, always a user
3) use drivers liscense to track and identify tobacco users.
4) users need liscence to buy tobacco, cannot buy unless have id
5) why.....
a) charge them higher rates for everything that is affected by their choice
b) tax them if they have kids for increased need for medical due to thier choice
c) can track and send them a "thank you" every year for thier additional support to the country in the form of taxes and increased fees

Seems like a good way to allow everyone to have the choice and be accountable for thier choices.
b) "

" Are you kidding me? Why not just make it illegal to smoke in your home too? And of course illegal to smoke outside and pollute everyone else's clean air. Oh wait then where will you smoke?

My dad smoked when I was growing up and I am healthy but choose myself not to smoke. I was also never sick as a kid (have coughs, runny noses, ear infections and get pink eye as someone else said.) We don't need this. Let people raise their own children. "

" do you know how hard it is to smoke through the hole in my neck while driving? Actually not that hard, but it did take some getting used to it. Scares kids when I drive by too! I hope they don't start "

" 'jail sentence for the offenders for endangering the lives of the children'

Yeah that's just we need, more time for kids to be without there parents...brilliant!

America, land of used-to-be free and home of the brave. The real scary part is that some of you think this law is progressing our society. Personally, I think they should be more concerned about the education of kids, not silly, unenforcable parenting laws. I've heard about kids dying in cars, but never heard it attibuted to 2nd hand smoke. "

" I think this is wonderful! I work at a school with very young kids who are dropped off for school by a smoking parent. A few parents won't get out with their kids, since they'd have to put of their precious cig. Also, if someone is pulled over for this, seatbelts and child seats would be checked at the time. This would be a great thing! "

" New York CITY banned TRANS FATS, but New York State did not ban any food.

And I only wish this was law when I was a child in Nebraska. Too much time in the car with my smoker father... I think I'm lucky not to have lung cancer (yet). "

" what next, a fine for farting in the car too??
When are they going to quit trying to run everyones lives?????
One day back & you'd think Uncle Earnie was back ! "

" First, let me point out that I don't smoke. When I am driving, I can smell smoke from cars in front of me. Even if I am on a highway and a car or two in front of me has a someone smoking, I honestly can smell it. So, given the reasoning of this lawmaker, if I have children in my car the car in front of me should be given a fine for smoking. If I can smell it, than so can any children in my car.

This law is ALMOST as stupid as the one a New England township tried to pass a few years ago. I can't remmember the name of the town, but they wanted to make it illegal to smoke in your own home if it bothered your neighbors. Not in your apartment or condo, in your HOME.

This is just another example of our government having the wrong priorities. "

" Sure the citation doesn't go on your driving record, but it will go on your criminal record. Nice.
If smoking in front of children is such a bad thing, why doesn't the State just take the kids away and put them in foster care until the parent quits. That should solve the problem and it won't clog our criminal courts with law breakers. "

" I think it is about time for this kind of thing. For the one who said fast food is just as bad for kids, you must be kidding. although fast food is not the best for them it doesnt half all of the posions that cause cancers and other illnesses. I spent my life riding in a car filled with smoke and was born to a mother who smoked and this caused health problems for me. My grandmother spent her life around smokers and never smoke herself but died from cancer. I feel so sick to my stomach when I drive by a car that has a child in it while the parent is smoking with the window cracked or not. many fail to relize that the window down does nothing for the smoke that still stays in the car or what blows right back in. The government is trying to help save lives by doing this just the same way they make laws about car seats and such. "

" When will all this madness end, too much government already. "

" Somewhat sounds like Communism...

It's called private property. You can smoke in the car you own. The stupid state doesn't allow it's employee's to smoke the States cars. Guess now they own ours.

What a moronic bill. It won't pass. Waist of time and effort by Gwen. Great job Omaha, you elected her. "

" For those that support this law and would actually like to see jail time, be careful what you wish for. "

" ok, whats next, can't smoke in our own house. Things are getting quite out of hand when they (government) will tell us when where, how much we can do things. We all know the name of that kind of government. Is that what our people have fought for over the years? "

" So now it is your right to soke wiht children in the car?????? You spoiled americans...all about YOUR rights. What about the rights of children who should be our number one focus. If you people were more responsible w wouldn't need to cram common sense down your throat.

At what point is protecting children from second hand smoke (or as suggested ensuring they are buckled in) is a bad thing.

Smarty is right on..smokers are also the most selfish people on this earth. "

" So now it is your RIGHT to smoke with children in the car?????? You spoiled Americans. Basically you have a right to EVERYTHING! Regardless of how it affects the rest of us. What about the rights of your children? You are obviously incompetent as a parent and someone has to step in and force you to do right by your child..Its all about YOUR rights. What about the rights of children who should be our number one focus. If you people were more responsible we wouldn't need to cram common sense down your throat.

At what point is protecting children from second hand smoke (or as suggested ensuring they are buckled in) is a bad thing. HOW is that bad????

"Smarty" is right on..smokers are also the most selfish people on this earth.

Individual freedoms are great until they harm others. THAT is why we have laws against theft and murder. Once again if we as citizens did more to police ourselves then we wouldn't need laws like this. In the end those who are ticketed are those who need a kicking and are unresponsible parents. The number of offenders is low in contrast to the number who would not do this. But to save even one child makes it worth it.

In the end this law will affect very few of us but so many benefit from it. Those who are truly innocent victims and have their RIGHTS trampled on. "

" Okay, I'm not a fan of Ernie's, but right now, I'm really wishing that he was still in office! This law is absurd. This law has to be unconstitutional! "Big Brother" can not invade our privacy his way. "

" I'm always amused by the fact smokers never ever ever think of what smoking does to thier children or makes their children feel. If anything, the smell alone should be enough to warrent action. Less smelly children in school is a worthy cause. I supported the Lincoln smoking ban mostly because I knew lots of children are brought into sports bars and such with their parents and were subjected to the unpleasent experiences (I was one such child). I'm so shocked that smokers don't have the common sense to simply wait to smoke 'outside' of their children-filled cars. Mark my words, smokers...the Nanny is coming and you're going to get spanked. "

" I agree, JoAnn. There are a lot bigger fish to fry and if police fill their days will pulling over smokers with kids in the car who will have time to patrol the parks/trails where sex offenders are waiting to prey on their victims. While smoking around children is a terrible offense, I don't see how it trumps driving around with small children without seat belts/car seats. If you can't pass a bill enabling police to do that, why waste time on something like this? "

" Let's start fining parents for feeding their kids pop, hot dogs, & potato chips, too...since that's every bit as unhealthy. "

" Give it a rest we certainly do not need laws like this. This state has no freedoms people that are worried about what someone else is doing in their own vehicle need to mind there own business. "

" I've got an idea,How about we introduce a Bill to eliminate politicians! They have become a disgrace to the freedoms in this country. If this continues I guess I'll just take my tax money and move to another state. I'm sick and tired of all this PC nanny crap!! This woman doesn't care about children only money. If she cared about children she should think about fixing the worthless education system that idiot politicians created and continue to destroy. GOVT DON'T CREATE, THEY CONFISCATE. "

" It is amazing to me that some people take this subject so lightly! You are obviously not parent. You have never had your son or daughter come home coughing and sick because he or she is allergic to smoke yet there father and step mother couldn't care less. It is absolutely infuriating to me that you people are not taking this seriously. I was a smoker but I NEVER smoked in my house in my car or even around my son and as soon as I found out he had allergies to it I stopped fast there was not even a question about it. I have talked to his father and it hasn't stopped he just started rolling the windows down a little more in the car and sending my son out side when he wants to smoke. What kind of a society are we in that we don't even care about the health of our children? Also yes there are kids that are 15 and smoke but really who's fault is that? Yours because you are the people who smoke with your kids in the car and let them think it is ok. If we just take it away and if you feel the need to kill yourself make sure you do it away from your kids and every time you light that cigarette think of the 10 minutes you are wasting that you could be reading your kid a book or helping them with there homework. "

" I see Big Brother has stuck her/his head up. Next, you won't be able to smoke in your own homes. This kind of zealotry needs to be snuffed out before it gets any traction. I predicted this years ago, which was easy enough considering the religious zeal of these fanatics. The more they control, the more rights will be taken away. Wake up, people. It won't be smoking next time. They'll eventually get around to something you enjoy. I know, it’s all for the children. Just like every school bond issue is all for the children. What a joke. "

" Now how are the police going to enforce this? Jeez, senator Howard can you engage your brain before you ask your fellow inmates to pass these laws that are designed to let people know just how thoughtless you can be "

" Believe that smoking in the car with a child present is wrong but don't believe that it should be regulated by the government. There are too many other things for the unicameral to worry about. "

" I'm amazing that people don't realize that this is about the kids not about us. Its because of our trips from Colorado to Nebraska with our grandma and mom, etc smoking its going into effect. Sad to say some people just don't put their kids health first. I hate to say I am a soon to be non smoker, but I would NEVER smoke in the car or house around my children. I smoke its not for them! "

" We once made an amendment to our constitution to prohibit drinking. That was appealed. We say we're doin it for the children then lets get rid of all the fossil fuels so we can breath cleaner air. We allow the government to "interfere" in our lives. For all those who posting their opinions that they don't want to see it pass write your senators send them emails call their offices. Vote. Benjamin Franklin once said "They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security," We the people need to speak. "

" lets see t smokers defend this one! "

" ok let me see-we want to make the fines permanent and go up every time you get caught. well let me tell you that when I drop my kids off at school in the mornings, I can't count how many kids are riding in the cars without a seatbelt in use, never mind a car seat being used. And oh I forgot to mention all of the litle kids riding up front. I even had a child that walked up to my car and made fun of my 5 yr old son for riding in a car seat. Although I don't think that smoking is good for anyone I think it is funny how smoking is attacked once again when I see things daily that are as equally dangerous and I don't see hear people wanting to make it part of your permanent record and doubling fines everytime you get caught. Funny thing also is there is a police officer at the school at pickup times most days. "

" Why in the world would you smoke in a car with a kid in it in the first place? Is it so his/her hair, clothes, coat, and books can smell awful all day and other kids can look down on him? Or is it because you want him to have asthma and low self confidence. Grow up smokers, kids cannot make this decision for themselves. "

" I guess I should consider myself lucky to have made it to adulthood. Not only did I grow up in a household where both parents smoked, but I somehow made it through school unscathed as I played on those dangerous teeter-totters, jungle gyms, etc. that are no longer allowed on playgrounds. I even survived the "real" chemistry set I received for my 10th birthday, the embarassment of taking showers after gym class and the unrestricted drivers license I received on my 16th birthday. Why don't we just put our kids in plastic bubbles until they turn 18? Seriously, I think the police already have a full load of laws to enforce, and aren't there more important dangers/issues facing our children? Fix the BSDC and behavioral health messes before you sweat the samll stuff. "

" I sure wish they would outlaw the bars or increase the tax on alcohol. Cause last time i checked alcohol kills families kills people and is just bad bad bad. No more giving candy to your kids either its bad for their teeth. No more video games either it makes them anti-social and violent. No more tv either. oh and no more of the mcdonalds crap either. but none of you non smokers are guilty of that are ya. "

" If I let you in my car do you promise to stay out of my house... "

" some of these laws have gotten outta hand in this state, they are so pitty to, who cares whether or not someone wants to smoke in the car with kids in their, its their choice!!! Ah right the economy is going under so that makes it ok for for us americans to loose all our rights, we mise well just hand over our kids to the state. "

" For all you people that think a child is going to immediately get cancer from a whiff of smoke...you shoudl all probably be dead then because a LOT of parents smoked backe in the good ole days and you are still here! I think it is a very bad choice to smoke in an enclosed car with a child, don't get me wrong...but some of you people take this a little too far by thinking they are having their lives 'endangered' and the parents should be charged with such. How about parents that let their 5 year olds drive 4 wheelers---isnt' that endnagerment? "

" I don't see how this is going to work. But I agree with everyone who doesn't think children should have to breathe in cigarette smoke. However, where does the invasion of privacy stop? I don't have kids, but if a cop drives by and see's me smoking are they just going to pull me over to make sure there's no child seat in the back seat of my car? OR, after they pass this law, then the next law that they will pass is that no one can smoke in their cars! Period!! It's MY car. MY property, and if I want to smoke in my car I should be able to. And THEN they'll pass a law that says you can't smoke while on a sidewalk when children are near by (which I try and avoid smoking next to kids anyway, but there doesn't need to be a law). THEN they'll pass a law that says you can't smoke on the streets/sidewalks! Period!! Then they'll start making cigarettes illegal altogether so you can't even smoke in your own home, or in your own backyard.

So that's what I ask all you people out there. Do you really think the government is going to stop at this? They always start with one, simple, relatively reasonable, non-invasive law, but then they just keep changing it and changing it to make it more restrictive. Just look at what happened to seat belts!

It's gotta stop somewhere! And it needs to stop now!! STOP THE INVASION OF PRIVACY BEFORE IT GETS OUT OF CONTROL "

" Ok smokers you want an explanation for the pink eye. To clarify there are several types of pink eye. Pink eye is basically a cold in the eye and will go away on it's own in a few days. You can have pink eye when you are sick with a cold or it can be caused by allergies/ environmental factors (smoke). There is also the bacterial kind (caused by poo particals making there way into your occular cavities) this kind requires medicated drops to get rid of it. So while smoking dos not cause the bacterial kind, it can cause you to have allergy pink eye or just plain red eyes that can be mistaken for pink eye. "

" I don't know about this law, but I do know that I can't stand seeing a child in the car with the driver smoking. I don't think a whole lot of that person at all. It's not like the children can get away from the smoke or that it dissipates much in an enclosed space. "

" I think this ban is a really good idea. I am a smoker and was also in favor of the smoking ban, although I have to put on my coat and stand in the cold to support my bad habit, I don't believe I have the right to impose on anybody else's right to clean air. If I am smoking outside in the public I make sure to stand clear of others, its just having consideration for other people. "

" It's not about taking away your rights. It's about standing up for those who have no voice of their own. Some people are just too selfish to do the right thing on their own. You don't want to know the things that go through my head about the person who's sitting in their car with a kid, just smoking away, as if there isn't another person affected by their bad choice. "

" If the Almighty Gwen Howard is so concerned with the health and safety of Nebraska's children then perhaps she should visit a local public school and watch what goes on daily, better yet, follow a latch key kid home one day and see the dangers faced by that child on a simple walk home. Or maybe she could watch that child suffer from an illness because the parent(s) cant afford the doctor visit......all the while the welfare recipient receives free child care, free medical care, and intervetion by the State. Give me a break! Get off your high horse senator and address the REAL threats, revise the REAL problems, THEN tell non-welfare receiving tax payors when they can and cannot smoke. (FYI: I'm NOT a smoker) "

" This is crazy, of all the things the goverment has going on, how about taking care of the goverment corpution and save the taxpayers some money. I have been against the seat belt law, the smoking ban, child restraints not because I don't use them, in which I do, but I seen things like this get out of control. Watch out junk food junkies they are going to start weighing you before you can buy it. We still have bars suffering or closed down because of the smoking ban. Responsible people will abide by the laws the others will do whatever they want. Get to work Legislators and be productive this session. "

" I have two sons who are police officers, and never once have they been threatened with a lit cigarette....guns, knives, attack dogs, etc. I believe it is time to focus on real threats. Is smoking good for you....no, but for this mother, I'd rather have my boys faced with the cigarette then a gun! "

" what's gonna happen.
Jonny and Susie are 17 and 12. Jonny is mad at his dad one day because he can't go spend the night at a friends house on a weeknight. Now Jonny throws a fit because he know's hiS dad isn't allowed to give him a swat on the butt. Then he get's grounded longer, and decides to hit his mom and start a fire in his room- because he knows that dad and mom just have to put up with it- there isn't any help for this kind of behavior, we just can't afford it. Well, Jonny then gets his video game that hunts and kills taken away, his 4 wheeler(which is one of the highest accident reasons kids go the the hospital) taken away, then is told he will have to eat at home the rest of the week because there will be no more fatty fast food outings because of his behavior.
So Jonny has a great idea- since he can't use the cel phone that gives him brain cancer over a long period of time(because mom and dad took that too), he will wait til dad get s in the shower and tell the police that his dad smokes with his little sister in the car. Now..his dad may or may not smoke, but Jonny will do his best to ruin his day by getting him pulled over and make him late for work.
I AM a smoker- but I never smoked in the house with my children there, or in the car with them in it.
But I am telling you..this will start a flood of calls to the local police from angry kids to nosy neighbors that you torked off one day. If this law passes, we might as weLl just let our government and our children CONTROL what we can and can't do in the privacy of our own homes. And for you "non-spanking" parents out there- I am not talking about beating your children. I didn't have to spank my kids..going to their room was worse then geting spanked-of course, my children didnt get spoiled by having there own cel phone, tv, and computer in their room until I knew they were responsible. But I do believe we have lost the power- because of the government- to discipline our kids.

This law will just give them more reason to try and tell us how to raise our kids. Shame on the parents who make there children breathe their smoke. And shame on you "I am the greatest parent ever" people for trying to tell me something I should or shouldnt do. I raised my kids by doing the right things...but if the government does thise, then comes into my home and does it...don't be surprised when I push for a law that stops you from allowing YOUR children to have violent video games, cancer giving cel phones at the age of 10, spine crushing 4 wheelers, and neck breaking trampolines at any age. You would tell me that all of these things are legal and that you use common sense and take care of your kids. Well you know what? So do I. Just because I smoke doesn't mean I did it in front of my kids in the car. FIND SOME OTHER LWAS TO FIX BEFORE PASSING NEW ONES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "

" So you're telling me that if someone smokes and it gets in my eye, it can cause an incredibly contagious infection in it? Please don't confuse red, irritated eyes with a condition that requires treatment from a medical professional. Even your "explanation" is misleading.

Hopefully this doesn't pass. PS I'm not a smoker, just as I bet a lot of the opponents here aren't. "

" I wish we would have had this law when I was a kid. We used to complain to my mom about smoking in the car making it hard to breathe but she didn't care. "

" So, what would happen if I gave my child a glass to drink mixed with the following ingredients:
Acetone – also found in finger nail polish remover
Ammonia – used in household cleaning compounds
Arsenic – commonly used in rat poison.
Butane – key ingredient in lighter fluid
Cadmium – active component in battery acid
Carbon Monoxide – the same gas released from your car’s exhaust system
DDT/Dieldrin – a poison used in commercial insecticides
Ethanol – alcohol
Hydrogen Cyanide – yet another lethal poison
Methane – gas released from the bowels (now there’s a nice thought)
Methanol – component of rocket fuel
Napthalene – ingredient used in mothballs
Nicotine – yet another insecticide, and a highly addictive substance
Stearic Acid – found in candle wax
Toluene – industrial strength cleaning solvent

Do you think I would be arrested for child endangerment? "

" Absoulutely, "Ill continue to light up around my kids anyway". I don't smoke around my kids and that is my prerogative, but to legislate this further is disingenuous. REALLY what you want to do, legislature, if you cared about the health of Nebraskan's, would be to make smoking illegal, period. But you won't do that, will you? "

" Smoking in an enclosed car with a child is not a good idea. But can we legislate bad parenting? Or rather, do we WANT to? Perhaps education and/or public service announcements might be the first step before we starting writing laws that will likely cause more problems than they solve.

Also, I am an RN and I have never seen a diagnosis of pink eye from smoking. Smoking causes many things, pinkeye is stretching it quite a bit. "

" Glad I buy my cigs online and no tax money for the Nanny State. "

" I am not a smoker but I find this to be excessive. What next police coming into a home on a report of parents smoking around their children. I am sure that this will pass in Nebraska we are the land of take away rights. I think there are a lot more important issues that the Leg. should look at before this one. "

" At what point did parents become infallible? I laugh at the comments made by those who say, "You can't tell me how to raise my kids!" Really? If you can't see that smoking around your kids is doing irreparable harm, then maybe someone needs to tell you how to raise your kids...you obviously aren't responsible enough to do it on your own.

Cigarette smoke is poison...can any smoker argue that? I'm sure a few smokers would try to argue it...but if you're argument is based in fact, then you absolutely cannot deny the fact that cigarettes are poison. Is this responsible behavior for a parent? To poison your kids is your "right"? Is it my right to put lead and arsenic in your food? Certainly not, and I'd probably go to jail for doing such a thing. So what gives you the right to put lead and arsenic in your child's air?

When it comes right down to it, despite your own beliefs, you may not actually know what is best for your child. If you survived cigarette smoke from your parents completely unscathed...good for you, you beat the odds. I hear some people actually win stuff from Publishers Clearinghouse every once in awhile, too. What's saying your kids will be so lucky? Are you really willing to gamble with your children's lives? Anyone who would answer "yes" is undeserving of the blessing they've been given. "

" Well, some people do get sick from cigarette smoke and some do not as well as children. If people haven't heard by now how dangerous smoke is to their children then they are all simply dumb.It is a form of abuse to make your children breathe the awful stuff. It's unfortunate that many will only think of themselves in the long run.
Especially when the children have to watch their parent(s) die of a lung disease. That's pretty cruel and sad. Especially when the plug has to be pulled. "

" Can they now tell me how to parent, what color my house should be, how to mow my lawn, when I have to shovel snow, and what I will eat for dinner. "

" Gwen Howard’s proposed legislation is absolutely ridiculous. I don’t need the Nebraska Legislature this involved with the decisions I make about myself and my children. And the last time I checked, they were MY children. It appears to me that the Nebraska Legislature has gotten out of control.

While I don’t think it’s a good idea to smoke in the presence of children, or in a car or a home where children are, that is a personal choice and a decision that the government and everyone else has no business being involved in. I pay my own car payment and my own mortgage payment, which makes those two items MINE…. And smoking is a legal activity. If Gwen Howard or the rest of the Nebraska Legislature would like to have the right to dictate what legal activities I do inside my car or my home, I’ll just send my billing statements to their attention at the Capitol Building for payment.

This proposed legislation goes way beyond the smoking issue. This is about governmental control of the people, and politicians trying to impose their personal morals and agendas on the rest of us. What’s next? A law that says only people with an IQ over 100 can even HAVE children? Should we have forced sterilization for those who fall below that threshold because they are deemed to be incapable of raising children adequately? Oh, and while we’re at it, people who can’t make an adequate living should also be banned from having children. Poverty is detrimental to children’s health and well-being. Living in crime-ridden neighborhoods with gangs, drug dealers, thieves, thugs, etc. also is harmful to children. Watch out parents, you may be targeted next with possible fines (and/or jail time) because you can’t make a supposed “appropriate” decision to provide a “better” lifestyle for your child.

If Gwen is seriously concerned about the safety and well-being of Nebraska’s children, maybe she should propose legislation that would outlaw teen pregnancies, out-of-wedlock births, and single-parent households. These all create situations that can be harmful to children. Let’s also impose fines and jail time for parents who get a divorce! Lack of parental affection and stability is detrimental to a child’s health and well-being, not to mention all the traveling back-and-forth for visitation. More time spent traveling, more risk of being involved in a motor-vehicle accident – that’s harmful.

While most of the above is meant to be sarcastic to make a point about this ridiculously proposed legislation, WE THE PEOPLE need to remember something. When we allow government to dictate and control our lives to the point that we are unable to or prohibited from making decisions for ourselves and our families, then we are no better than the Nazis, the Communists, or the Taliban.

The State of Nebraska has already been INTERNATIONALLY embarrassed by one dumb law that was passed. Do we really want to re-visit that? "

" What about the 7month pregnant woman smoking is that ok or will she get fined too? "

" Paracelsus, the father of toxicology, once wrote: "Everything is poison, there is poison in everything. Only the dose makes a thing not a poison." "

" I grew up in a home and car where both my parents smoked. As a teenager I developed asthma and had to use an inhaler. When I graduated and left the home, guess what? No more asthma and no more inhaler. I think this would be a wonderful law to pass. "

" I grew up with parents who smoked like a chimney and drank like a fish. I chose not to smoke because it made me dizzy and sick to my stomach. I chose not to drink because I don't like getting drunk and throwing up.

I grew up watching black and white television, didn't have a computer or a Nintendo, didn't have a cell phone. But I survived. We didn't have seat belts when I was a child. But I somehow survived.

My own son didn't have any of those things until he became an adult and bought them for himself and/or his children.

If the driver who smelled cigarette smoke coming from another vehicle was offended or repulsed by the smell, the offended driver should have rolled up his or her car window. Smoking is now banned in almost all public buildings including hospitals and medical buildings, car dealerships, restaurants, bars, courthouses, churches, and so on.

I do not agree with bill for one reason only. It is an invasion of the rights of the private citizen. This is the United States, not Nazi Germany or a Communist country. Our Government, whether state or Federal, has no legal right to tell any private citizen what they can or cannot do within the confines of that citizen's private space, whether that is inside their own vehicle, inside their own house, or in their own yard. "

" I have a much better and cheaper idea. Let's just outlaw kids! "

" First of all, I have to say that the State has to start looking out for real reasons to come after people. Seriously, it has been what a month ago when they decided to revise the safe haven law to have a time limit? Why be so worried about our kids lives now when the State a month ago sure didn't seem to care if the guardians could handle them then or not. Come on Nebraska, yes the kids come first, but lets make sure the kids are safe before we start dictating to others that smoking around your kids MAY or MAY NOT cause whatever ailment. "

" Just a few short years ago, it was okay for people to smoke. No one made a fuss about anything related to smoking.

Then it became fashionable to bomb abortion clinics, to attack females who chose this method to end their pregnancies, to assault people who wore real fur, to refuse to wear a bra, and to cough and carry on when another person lit up a cigarette, cigar or pipe.

Smokers have been so ostracized that most are very conscious of the ills, real or imagined, their habit may inflict on others, including children in a vehicle.

There has never been a law passed making it illegal not to wear a bra or to wear real fur. Although laws have been passed regarding some drugs, and driving while intoxicated or under the influence, there are more deaths attributed to drug overdose and drunk drivers than to first- or second-hand smoke.

I do not smoke, but to impose one person's beliefs on another person is morally and unconstitutionally reprehensible. "

" First off, as a defender of ALL your rights, I say heck yeah to the Bill. Your kids dont choose to smoke, so dont force it on them. I was a smoker for 9 years and never would I have smoked with a child around me. I hope that all of you who chose to smoke around children get fined or chose to quit.

Our government has every right to enforce this, so deal with it. THIS IS AMERICA!!!! If you dont like, why dont you leave the United States. My thought is, you wont, because the way we live is still better than anywhere else.

Thank you state Sen. Gwen Howard!!!! Dont listen to all these yahoos, you are making the right choice. "

" This is hogwash!! We have people who speed, drive recklessly, run red lights, drive with cell phones up to their ears oblivious to the cars around them and the cops are going to go after smokers in their cars? I bet a kid would suffer greater injury from being hit by a red light runner than a smoker. Let's see some priorities here.

P.S. I am not nor have I ever been a smoker. "

" I agree with Trish. I grew up with parents that physically abused me. But somehow I managed to survive. Then they passed all of these laws that you cannot abuse your child IN YOUR OWN HOME. Excuse me, but this is American and I have the right to discipline my child as I wish in my own home. Slow, our rights are being eroded to the point that we will no longer be able to use withholding food as a punishment or will be charged with a crime for not locking up cleaning chemicals properly. My property, my child, none of YOUR business! "

" First, Sen. Howard was RE-Elected this term.. UNOPPOSED
Second, Sen. Howard, with 20 years in the HHS foster care area. Isn't involved in the Safe Haven project..
Third, this was a bill that she attempted last session
Fourth, (in case you were wondering) Ernie is gone "