Thursday, February 07, 2008

Alabama Legislature is....well, retarded

There is an Alabama politician (I use that term instead of legistlator because politicians seem to have more selfish motivation than those that actually do their jobs) that wants to ban "obese" people from eating at restaurants.

....?!

First of all, let's get to the logistic law side of this matter.
Many of our restaurants (pretty much all of them) are not self operated. They use produce from other states or are near major roads. We have fast food chains whose bases are not located in Alabama. Because of this, I would say almost 100% of our restaurants fall under jurisdiction of the Interstate Commerce Clause. This clause protects individual rights as far as the "protected groups" (the most protected group being race, religion, nationality, orgin, etc., the second protected group would be age and sex). Businesses cannot, under ICC, discriminate against said protected groups or deny their patronage because of their place in first or second protected group.
I said all this to ask the question:
Businesses are not allowed to discriminate on basis of aforesaid. Why should we then allow our government to create laws that not only limit patronage (I'll get to this in a second), but discriminate against a "new protected group" (being size/weight)?

This also limits the rights of the individual AND the rights of the business.

Individual rights:
How are they going to determine who is obese and who is not? Are we going to have to carry around a BMI card as well? Take a BMI test in the restaurant? Step on a scale to determine whether we are fat? What will the BMI be set at to determine whether or not you are obese? Or will you just be able to tell by looking at someone?
Whoops. That last question...aren't we told over and over and over not to be prejudice because of what a person looks like? What about pregnant people? Where do they stand in this issue? If I looked at a pregnant lady, she wouldn't exactly be a twig. Would they allow "fat" pregnant ladies to eat in the restaurants?
If you think those questions were slightly ridiculous let me give you something a lawyer would say...lawyers seem to make crazy outside the box claims, but if you think about them, they're somewhere in the realm of true:
Knowing someone's BMI, or requiring it for the person to do patronage, violates that persons guarded personal medical rights as protected under HIPAA of 1996. In effect, forcing a patron to release information regarding their health and using it to determine whether a person should be allowed to contribute to a business governed by ICC that is not a place of medicine, violates the patron's right to privacy and protection of health records and current health status.
(I love being a pre-law student...)
Besides. Wouldn't it just be embarrassing to have to stand on a scale in order to get into McDonalds?

Business infringement of rights:
I believe that even under issues of smoking in restaurants, it is up to the restaurant to decide whether they prevent smokers, or even fat people from being patrons in their restaurants. While I do love eating my meal without choking to death from clouds of cigarette smoke, it is not the right of the people to smoke wherever they please, but the right of the business to decide whether they allow it or not.
This government-imposed infringement on behalf of restaurant owners violates their rights to run their business as they please. As long as they are not violating ICC, why should they have to let the government decide whether or not someone is healthy enough to eat in their restaurant?

Not only this, but (to be quite honest and frank) "obese" people are the ones that eat out the most. Without their patronage, many restaurants/places of food business would cease to exist. Also, if you want to get really deep in this, the governement will lose money because less taxes are being paid.

Last time I checked, there are some pretty heavy set politicians...Maybe we should pass a law that all policicians have to have a healthy BMI before running for office.
Or better yet. An IQ.

3 comments:

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