Sunday, February 3, 2008

Proposed Mississippi Law Doesn't Stand A Fat Chance

Mississippi legislators have introduced a bill that would make it illegal for state-licensed restaurants to serve obese patrons. The bill (which can be linked to on The Smoking Gun), is the bird-brained idea of three members of the state's House of Representatives-- Republicans Ted Mayhall and John Read, and Democrat Bobby Shows.

The Daily Dude was unable to obtain photos or statistics on Mayhall, Read or Shows to find out whether they would automatically be disqualified from eating out if their bill were to become law. But according to the Journal of the American Medical Association, nearly a third of all folks (i.e., classified as "obese" with a body mass index of 30 and above) would be unable to go to a restaurant in the state of Mississippi. The proposed bill calls for the Mississippi Department of Health to establish weight criteria for restaurants to use when deciding whether to serve potential patrons. No penalties have yet been proposed.

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