Cohasset health officials are trying to ban smoking in the George Mealy American Legion post - the last private club in town where smoking is allowed - but some veterans say that, after serving their country, they have earned the right to light up if they wish.

“My personal feeling as a veteran is we deserve something a little bit special,” Vietnam veteran Bill Van Note said. “It’s nice to come in here and smoke and share our stories. At one point in time, we were willing to pay out with our lives for this country. Give us a break. Let us have our piece of the world.”

Van Note said the meeting with selectmen on March 10 is “meaningless” in his opinion. “The handwriting is on the wall. This is knee-jerk anti-smokers who never paid the price to belong here.”

(Yep, you guys litteraly risked your life for freedom, and the nicotine nannies are using that freedom to kick you out of your own place.)

“I think any veteran who wants to come in here and have a cigarette or cigar should be able to,” Dolan said. “We have a veteran who is 82 years old. He comes in and has a drink and smokes his pipe. People know what’s involved here when they walk through the door.”

(Sorry, old man. You once risked your life for your country, but you’re an evil evil smoker, so you must be kicked out in the cold and the rain. Otherwise, it would annoy a nanny, who would never visit the club, and we can’t have that, can we?)

Source: Boston.com Link

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