After...uh...digesting the ramifications of Mississippi House Bill 282, I've come to the realization that it's only political theater and shouldn't be taken too seriously.

That being said, it's still rather shocking to read the bill itself. The...ahem...meat of the bill is this:

Any food establishment to which this section applies shall not be allowed to serve food to any person who is obese, based on criteria prescribed by the State Department of Health after consultation with the Mississippi Council on Obesity Prevention and Management established under Section 41-101-1 or its successor. The State Department of Health shall prepare written materials that describe and explain the criteria for determining whether a person is obese, and shall provide those materials to all food establishments to which this section applies. A food establishment shall be entitled to rely on the criteria for obesity in those written materials when determining whether or not it is allowed to serve food to any person.

Emphasis mine.

My First thought? So much for personal liberty.

Second thought? Should we, as a nation, restrict or sacrifice personal liberty, in order to get our health care costs down?

Third thought? Having the government tell you that you're too fat to eat out is insane.

It's at that point that I realized just how silly this bill is. Experience tells me if a bill sounds insane and silly, and has no chance of passing, then there's likely another reason for it to be introduced. Because crazy Bills that seek to limit personal liberty is so 2001.

via Mefi