Individual Rights

"The government which governs least, governs best because its people discipline themselves." ... Thomas Jefferson.

Whether or not a decision is an individual right, or something the government should be involved in,  lies in the answer to the question; "Who will suffer harm if this decision turns out to be bad, the person making it, or the people of the community?" If the harm will only befall the decision maker, it is their right to choose and no one else's business. If the harm will come to another individual or group, the community has a right to interfere with the individual's decision and can insert itself, through the government into the decision making of that individual.

Everywhere you look nowadays, local governments are trying to make decisions for citizens that should be the choice of the individual, not the government. 

Some of these attempts are just plain silly but they do it anyway. New York City, for example, tried to curb obesity by limiting the size of the sugary drinks people could purchase, but they didn't put a limit on the number of drinks a person could buy, or the number of refills. This was later overturned in court but the fact that the city government thought it had the authority to do it does not bode well for individual rights.

Some of these attempt at limiting rights may make us laugh but they still set a dangerous precedent simply by their existence and by the fact that local governments consider these things to be their business, in any way at all.

I do not favor legislating social niceties or meddling with personal choice except when it affects the rights and lives of others. If I am elected mayor, I will look out for your individual rights.