by Karina Guzzi
Daily Lobo
The state Senate is considering legislation that would prevent people from suing a restaurant if they become overweight or unhealthy from eating there.
Sen. Steve Komadina wrote the bill after hearing about a case on the news where people sued McDonald's because they became obese.
He said people like that are trying to blame their choices and health problems on others.
"It is time for people in America to start taking responsibility for their actions," Komadina said. "People will think twice knowing that they are going to be responsible for their choices."
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Student Amanda Flynn agrees with the bill.
"I think it's about damn time," she said.
Graduate student Kamesh Madduri said he didn't agree with the bill.
"If someone got fat from fast food, then the place where they are eating regularly is responsible for it," he said.
Under the Right to Eat Enchiladas Act, there would be "no civil liability under the laws of this state for any claim of injury arising out of weight gain, obesity, a health condition associated with weight gain or obesity or other generally known conditions allegedly caused by or likely to result from the long-term consumption of food."
The proposed law protects not only restaurants but also businesses that deal with the manufacturing, packing, distributing, selling and marketing of food.
Komadina said he was also concerned for small mom-and-pop restaurants that might be put out of business because of lawsuit expenses.
Carol Wight, chief executive officer of the New Mexico Restaurant Association, said restaurants would not survive such lawsuits. Regardless of the outcome, they would end up spending hundreds of dollars to defend themselves, she said.
Wight said obesity is a matter of personal choice.
"People choose to be obese by their eating and exercising habits," she said. "The consumer will get less choices if that is not put into place."
Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino said the fast food industry is using the same argument as tobacco companies by saying it's a consumer's choice to buy the products.
Komadina said his bill ensures people have the freedom to eat what they want.
Ortiz y Pino said it is hard for consumers to win lawsuits against food industries. He said there is no need for a law that gets rid of consumer protection.
"To sue a restaurant, you have to demonstrate three things: that you became addicted, that they did it deliberately and that they were warned and didn't stop," Ortiz y Pino said.
In a news release, Ortiz y Pino said the bill refers to obesity only on the surface. The legislation's real intent, he said, is to block legal actions generated by health problems connected to over eating, such as diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer's disease.
"Even if these were proven scientifically to be caused by dietary excess, we would be prevented from seeking any legal remedy or relief from the purveyors of the foods that lead to the illnesses," he said.
The Senate Public Affairs Committee approved the bill on Feb. 11. The Right to Eat Enchiladas Act will be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee before it's voted on by the Senate.
Komadina said there should be a decision by March 19 on whether the bill will become law.
Rep. Terry Marquardt introduced a version of the Right to Eat Enchiladas Act into the House of Representatives. The bill is in the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee.
