State lawmakers in Jackson, Mississippi have proposed a bill preventing obese people from eating at restaurants, according to The Associated Press. Criteria for determination are yet to be decided.
There may be some method to the madness: Mississippi is the fattest state in the US, with over 30 percent of adults being obese, according to a 2007 study from Trust for America's Health.
Even the lawmakers believe that the bill will flop, according to the AP article. Having lawmakers write a law like this one proves that they don't give the American people much credit. The bill punishes the consumer.
Why not punish the restaurants, forcing them to make nutrition facts more available? Education, not punishment, is the key. Or, just outlaw what's unhealthy. New York City officials have banned harmful trans fats from all restaurant foods.
Smoking, like eating less-than-healthy, is a personal choice. Many restaurants and bars across the country have banned smoking. But banning the act is different from banning fat people from eating at restaurants, because smoking hurts innocent bystanders through second hand smoke; there is no second hand fat.
Banning an obese person from eating restaurant food may be likened to denying a belligerent drunk patron another drink. But discrimination based on size, appearance and weight will no doubt be grounds for a legal battle. The lack of guidelines for what makes a person "obese" in the restaurant ban makes the law impossible to enforce.
Having lawmakers step in and dictate who can eat where is oppressive. Would the next step be banning people in debt from using credit cards? America is the land of the free, where people can choose to smoke, drink, and eat whatever they want. As Marie Antoinette is rumored to have said, "let them eat cake."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
