NEW LAW IN MISSISSIPPI. You can't eat here. You're too fat.

[ShiningStarr]

Re: NEW LAW IN MISSISSIPPI. You can't eat here. You're too fat.

I think this is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of. I can not imagine being the person having to say I am sorry the state of Mississippi thinks you are too fat to eat in public .... I think that is they are trying to make their state healthier than their are better ways to do that....I think if they want to "help" the obese people in the world, than they should do something about the food that is being served, not the people eating it! Just recently we have been seeing trans fats being taken out of foods, and while that is a good start, sooo much more can be done. They can discourage eating unhealthy foods by making healthier food less expensive....How about making those "Value meals/ combo baskets" come with salads and charge extra for fries. There should be away to encourage healthy eating without discriminating against people....what's next are they going to riffle through my grocery cart and pick out all the junk food before I am aloud to cash out??.... or are they going to ban me from going grocery shopping....is that how they are going to get me to lose weight....forced starvation....and what if a friend buys me a meal....could they be charged with providing food to an obese???? This is crazy !!!

[SunnySmile501]

Re: NEW LAW IN MISSISSIPPI. You can't eat here. You're too fat.

Here's an update--the lawmaker never intended the bill to actually pass:

February 4, 2008

Miss. Law Would Ban Serving Obese Diners

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 10:01 p.m. ET

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- A state lawmaker wants to ban restaurants from serving food to obese customers -- but please, don't be offended. He says he never even expected his plan to become law.

''I was trying to shed a little light on the number one problem in Mississippi,'' said Republican Rep. John Read of Gautier, who acknowledges that at 5-foot-11 and 230 pounds, he'd probably have a tough time under his own bill.

More than 30 percent of adults in Mississippi are considered it obese, according to a 2007 study by the Trust for America's Health, a research group that focuses on disease prevention.

The state House Public Health Committee chairman, Democrat Steve Holland of Plantersville, said he is going to ''shred'' the bill.

''It is too oppressive for government to require a restaurant owner to police another human being from their own indiscretions,'' Holland said Monday.

The bill had no specifics about how obesity would be defined, or how restaurants were supposed to determine if a customer was obese.

Al Stamps, who owns a restaurant in Jackson, said it is ''absurd'' for the state to consider telling him which customers he can't serve. He and his wife, Kim, do a bustling lunch business at Cool Al's, which serves big burgers -- beef or veggie -- and specialty foods like ''Sassy Momma Sweet Potato Fries.''

''There is a better way to deal with health issues than to impose those kind of regulations,'' Al Stamps said. ''I'm sorry -- you can't do it by treating adults like children and telling them what they can and cannot eat.''

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-ODD-No-Serve-Law.html

[APanthesilia]

Re: NEW LAW IN MISSISSIPPI. You can't eat here. You're too fat.

Thanks for that, Sunny! Good to know!

[Chicklady]

Re: NEW LAW IN MISSISSIPPI. You can't eat here. You're too fat.

Intending it to pass or not (which he could just be backing down from) is irrelevant. he should hang for even suggesting such an absurd thing.

[ValidRouge]

Re: NEW LAW IN MISSISSIPPI. You can't eat here. You're too fat.

Here's something to add to the conversation....So, the excuse of obesity and tobacco use being expensive to taxpayers might be debateable.

http://news.wired.com/dynamic/storie...02-05-02-58-08

Fat People Cheaper to Treat, Study Says

By MARIA CHENG
AP Medical Writer


LONDON (AP) -- Preventing obesity and smoking can save lives, but it doesn't save money, researchers reported Monday. It costs more to care for healthy people who live years longer, according to a Dutch study that counters the common perception that preventing obesity would save governments millions of dollars....

[Sheepie]

Re: NEW LAW IN MISSISSIPPI. You can't eat here. You're too fat.

Just as I suspected!

[TitianWasp]

Re: NEW LAW IN MISSISSIPPI. You can't eat here. You're too fat.

Any government or system that benefits from the lessening of your lifespan probably doesn't have your best interests at heart.

[Ape Dos Mil]

Re: NEW LAW IN MISSISSIPPI. You can't eat here. You're too fat.

I don't think food establishments would go for all of that lost market share.


Not to mention that it is flat-out discrimination, I doubt the bill will pass.