Malodorous legislation (yes, I'm aware of the redundancy here)

Could you imagine being kicked out of a library because an employee didn't care for your scent? It seems as if folks in California's San Luis Obispo County don't have to wonder about such an idea any more since it has now been made official by government decree. The county has adopted an ordinance that allows authorities to throw people out to the curb for meeting someone's arbitrary definition of "smelly".

Here is a ridiculous excerpt from the story:

A strict code of conduct, officials argue, is needed to ensure one patron's right to use a public library doesn't infringe on the rights of another.

What rights are being infringed upon if one happens to walk past someone wearing too much perfume or patchouli, or someone reeking of garlic, or someone who has chosen not to bathe the past few days?

If this was being implemented by private libraries, I'd see nothing seriously wrong with it even though I consider the type of mindset that would come up with regulations to be, well, stinky. While I'd rather not get into arguing against the existance of public institutions such as libraries at this point, I will say that while such institutions do exist, people shouldn't be forcibly removed from them based upon an arbitrary definition of what supposedly smells bad.

Here's an interesting question for the people who actually used aggressive political means to make such insanity a reality: What if people are turned off by, or offended by, things such as a patron's clothing, accessories, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or skin color? How do you like the fact that your crusade against so-called bad smells could set a precedent that could one day make you subject for forcible removal? What if someone doesn't care for your brand of perfume? What if you suddenly have an uncontrollable bout of bad gas? You reap what you sow, jackasses!

(link via The Hairy Libertarian)