At a Centerville City Council meeting Tuesday night, a hearing will be held about a proposal to either ban smoke shops entirely from the city or relegate them to industrial zones. One libertarian law firm is blasting the proposal as the city playing the role of morality police.---

“It’s just a case of political bullying,” says Patrick Powers, director of the Utah Liberty Institute, a libertarian law firm and advocacy organization. “They’re trying to kick smoke shops out of the city just because they can. It’s an unfair attempt to impose some people’s values on others.”

The Utah Liberty Institute, as City Weekly recently reported, has made a mission of calling out local government for being hypocritical in espousing limited government principles while also using municipal authority against businesses that don’t jive with the values of the dominant LDS culture. Powers has hoped to rally protest against the ordinance and is hoping to be able to speak against the proposed ordinance at tonight’s hearings. The hearing will be held Tuesday, Aug. 7 at 7 p.m. at Centerville City Hall, 250 N. Main Street, Centerville.