“It’s Dead, Jim!”
February 5, 2008
“It’s dead on arrival at my desk.”
- Mississippi House Public Health and Human Services Committee Chairman Steve Holland (D - Plantersville) concerning Mississippi House Bill 282
ISAA would like to thank all of you for your participation in this activism effort. The Mississippi lawmakers heard you loud and clear! Ding, dong, the bill is dead!
ISAA would also like to thank NAAFA and COFTA for their participation in bringing attention to this ill-advised bill.
ISAA Condemns Proposed Mississippi Weight Based Segregation Law
February 2, 2008
Released on ISAA website and to the public on February 1, 2008
AUSTIN, TX - The International Size Acceptance Association (ISAA) opposes and condemns Mississippi House Bill 282, proposed by Representative W. T. Mayhall, Jr. of District 40, which is “an act to prohibit certain food establishments from serving food to any person who is obese.” In the unlikely possibility that this legislation actually passes, it would allow restaurants to refuse service to anyone with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or more. The bill does not specify how restaurants should check for BMI but it does state that “the State Department of Health shall monitor the food establishments to which this section applies for compliance with the provisions of this section, and may revoke the permit of any food establishment that repeatedly violates the provisions of this section.”
“This bill is wholesale legalized segregation based on weight,” said ISAA Founder and Director Allen Steadham. “It tells restaurants to choke their own business while discriminating against potential patrons. It is obscene and shows to what extent the obsession over obesity has reached. This clearly steps over a line and should be called for what it is.”
ISAA recommends that the public contact the Mississippi legislature and urge them to oppose this bill and Representative Mayhall to urge him to withdraw this bill.
Representative W.T. Mayhall
Home: 662.393.2069
Cell: 901.734.9540
Email: tmayhall@house.ms.gov
ISAA strongly suggests that the public exercise courtesy when contacting Representative Mayhall and the Mississippi legislature.
ISAA was created in 1997 with the mission to is to promote size acceptance and fight weight-based discrimination throughout the world by means of advocacy and visible, lawful actions. ISAA has a philosophy of self-respect, maintainable fitness and encourages healthy food choices.
Address questions or comments to ISAA Director Allen Steadham at directisaa@gmail.com
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Mississippi HOUSE BILL NO. 282: No Fat Person May Dine Here
February 2, 2008
Mississippi House Bill 282, full text, was introduced in the 2008 Mississippi legislative session on Friday by Representative W.T. Mayhall, Jr., a retired pharmaceutical salesman with DuPont-Merk. Its co-authors are Bobby Shows, a businessman, and John Read, a pharmacist.
This proposed bill would make discrimination and segregation based on a person’s body size and composition legal in the state of Mississippi and needs to be addressed by any and all Americans who value their own liberties and rights.
Of course, whenever there is a contact made with a legislator or any other public official, politeness is very important to the message.
As a disclaimer, neither ISAA nor I are advocating hate mail, vandalism, or anything else illegal or ethically questionable in posting this info. Again, please be polite, informative, and as brief as possible when contacting these honorable, albeit misguided in this proposed bill, legislators. Thank you.
So, the contact information is as follows:
Lead Author: Representative W. T. Mayhall, Jr. (R)
Capitol:
P. O. Box 1018
Jackson, MS 39215
tmayhall@house.ms.gov
Co-Author: Representative Bobby Shows (D)
Capitol:
P. O. Box 1018
Jackson, MS 39215
bshows@house.ms.gov
Co-Author: Representative John Read (R)
Capitol:
P. O. Box 1018
Jackson, MS 39215
jread@house.ms.gov
My personal email to these honorable legislators:
Mississippi HB 282
