Obesity Bill Meant Only To Draw Attention, Not Pass

Jackson, MS (AHN) - A proposed bill that prohibited restaurants from serving obese people was merely an attempt to raise awareness of the obesity problem, explained its author.

House Bill 282, which was announced as scheduled to be vetoed in a subcommittee hearing, was only something that was meant to draw attention to the health concerns of the city, said Rep. John Read (R-Gautier).

"Anybody with a sense knows it's not going to happen, not going to pass," said Read, according to the UPI.

He then continued that Mississippi had been tagged as the most obese state in the country, and the bill's proposition was meant to draw concern and attention towards the problem.

"With all the attention paid to tobacco problems, this was to shed some light on another major problem," Read said. "This has been at least getting the dialogue going."

Read insisted that the bill was not meant to anger or hurt anybody's feelings.

The bill had received significant heat from other officers, such as Steve Holland (D-Plantersville) of the Public Health and Human Services Committee.

"While I appreciate the efforts of my fellow House members to help curb the obesity problem in Mississippi," Holland said, "this is totally the wrong approach."

Holland was responsible for the announcement that a subcommittee hearing would veto the bill, according to the Clarion Ledger.

The bill also raised the tempers of the Florida-based Obesity Action Coalition, who had called for its withdrawal.

"HB 282 is the most blatant form of obesity discrimination," said coalition president Joseph Nadglowski. "This bill completely perpetuates the negative stigma often associated with obesity."

The bill was authored by Read, along with state reps. Ted Mayhall (R-Southaven), and Bobby Shows (D-Ellisville).