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That's right. If you live in the great state of Mississippi and you have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more, you may be denied service at restaurants soon. There is a bill working its way through the Mississippi House of Representatives now that would require restaurants to refuse to serve patrons who are obese. The bill would require eateries to keep track of customers BMI's and have scales at the doors. The states Department of Health would be responsible for enforcing compliance, and would revoke business permits for those dining establishments that violated the legislation.
This bill was introduced by Representative W.T. Mayhall, JR. Though he doesn't think his legislation will actually pass, he is very serious about it. He is concerned about the "serious problem of obesity and what it is costing the Medicare system." You can read the full text of the bill at this link.
I'm all for the government trying to protect its citizens and curbing its spending but I'm not sure this is the way to go about it. I think that prevention programs would be much more useful. I also believe that it's not the role of government to lead in the persecution of some of its citizens. Sorry Mr. Mayhall, that's not a good way to get reelected.
[Via coldmud]
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2-05-2008 @10:15AM Ras Thavas said... I would rather see the Government stop giving food stamps to the obese instead.
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2-05-2008 @10:45AM jrsygir1 said... they have as much chance of getting this thru as they have of taking away people's pornography.
there was a story yesterday that in fact skinny people, because they live longer, cost the system much more than smokers and the obese.....so lets deny skinny people use of the gym and low fat foods cause that will save us money in the long run.
these people are insane.
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2-05-2008 @11:08AM Claudia said... How do they plan to check drive-thru I wonder?
I can see fights breaking out already. I am sorry for all the poor restaurant owners, who are supposed to deal with big upset customers when they have to deny them food.
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2-05-2008 @11:31AM Mia said... How much control to we want to give our government, exactly? I'll stop there to avoid political discussion. How is this going to affect people who have other eating disorders? And how embarrassing and frustrating will this be for the mildly overweight person?
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2-05-2008 @11:47AM Shannon said... Why stop at restaurants? Maybe grocery stores should also be required to police people's carts and remove anything 'contraband.' Maybe convenience stores should have to deny selling snack cakes and candy to anyone who can't produce a valid weight ID.
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2-05-2008 @12:18PM vch73 said... Huh? I can't believe the Mississippi House of Representatives is REALLY considering this bill!
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2-05-2008 @8:06PM Heather said... you've got to be kidding me! I can't belive he is actually trying to pass this bill. if you ask me that is going too far. I don't think that the bill will pass.
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2-05-2008 @8:10PM AC said... How can this pass? It's a new form of discrimination! It's illegal to ban minorities from establishments, yet they think it's fine to ban overweight people???
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2-05-2008 @8:12PM Teresa said... Haha! So what about those people with a BMI of 29 .. should they be allowed to buy snack cakes and 5 big macs if they are at 29? A couple unhealthy meals and they'll hit 30. Might as well deny them too to keep them from hitting the dreaded BMI of 30 .. lol this is hilarious. Thankfully I don't have a BMI of even close to that nor that I live in Mississippi.
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2-05-2008 @8:13PM Deborah said... WAKE UP AMERICA! We are S-l-o-w-l-y losing our rights. We cannot say we do not like someone out loud, for it could be considered biased, forget the person is a jerk, and rude, we are labeled racist if we do not like them. Now, this is reversed biased towards over weight people. I use to be over weight. I knew it, but it was not from over eating. It actually was from eating one meal a day, and not knowing I had a hypothyroid condition. Now, I am 5'2 and 125. Regardless, this is prejudice against people over weight and this is a form of "HATE" in the ruse of health.
America we NEED to wake up before we lose more rights.
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2-05-2008 @8:14PM Angela said... Well isnt that discrimination!! Well maybe the government should make liquor illegal seeing how many people die from drunk drivers. Why dont we make that a law that actually makes sense. Just like jrsysgirl1 said lets ban skinny people from gyms and diet foods. The government has gone down hill and will contunie too. They need to make laws that actually make sense and is going to work instead of discriminatating against overweight people. I myself am overweight and this makes me angry!! Why dont I open up a restaurant and ban skinny people. What is this world coming to!! God help us all!!!
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2-05-2008 @8:14PM christine said... I thought our country is free to decide what we do in life. Not by goverment officals who think FAT! people should not eat out in public.
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2-05-2008 @8:16PM noelle said... I thought the U.S. was a "free country".
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2-05-2008 @8:17PM Nancy said... I thought the U.S. was a "free" country.
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2-05-2008 @8:17PM wvrev54 said... Fascism is evidently alive & well in Mississippi. Watch out, fellow out-of-shapes! big brother is watching!
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2-05-2008 @8:18PM Bee said... 3 comments:
Many obese persons are poor and become obese because they eat the high fat, high calorie cheap food rather than the healthier food they can't afford.
Food stamp recipients receive an allotment of $1 per person per meal - trust me, they aren't obese because they're receiving food stamps. They just can't afford healthy food.
This is such nonsense. Our governments (state and national) need to get their priorities straight. Spend our tax money on things that will educate the people and improve our infrastructure. The rest will follow.
P.S. How many of those legislators have a BMI over 30? I wonder.
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2-05-2008 @8:31PM Robert said... i think this is a total invasion of privacy. But i actually understand where hes coming from. It is much harder to gain 200+ pounds as to losing 10 pounds. i really dont know how they do it. i usu. deem the obese as completely normal like any other human, but just a little too weak mentally.
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2-05-2008 @8:25PM Sharon said... See???? Y'all thought it was funny and/or appropriate when the government started to regulate when & where smokers should smoke. Many predicted that if the government was allowed to regulate that freedom, then they would go after more...and here we go. Now they want to regulate how much we weigh and/or where/what we can eat. Any guesses on the next target? Hmmm...maybe on our number of children?
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2-05-2008 @8:22PM jesus said... Don't worry Fat People. When the law passes, I'll sneak food to you from the restaurant.
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2-05-2008 @8:25PM Cheryl said... Obviously this guy is nuts. Why is he wasting valuable time and money for something that he does not think will pass? This is a vicious cycle. Most people who are poor cannot afford to eat properly. It is much cheaper to eat junk than to buy lean meat, fruits, vegetable and whole grains. Many of us are fighting to lose weight and keep it off. We certainly do not need to be discriminated against by this frivilous legislation. Absurd!!!!!
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