Santa Clara County Supervisors Ban Toys With Fast-Food Meals

Where in our Constitution do we give government the right to ban toys? These socialists just approved the nation’s first ordinance that would prevent restaurants from giving a toy with a meal.

The law prohibits restaurants in unincorporated parts of Santa Clara County, California, from giving away goodies like Iron Man Cyclone Spinning Robot Drones and Barbie Mermaid dolls unless the meals meet certain nutritional guidelines.

This is the same County that outlawed Nuclear War in their County a few years ago!

Under the ordinance, restaurants would not be able to offer toys for kids’ meals that exceed certain nutritional standards — more than 485 total calories, for instance, or more than 600 milligrams of sodium. That means, at Wendy’s, four chicken nuggets, mandarin oranges and low-fat milk would get a toy. But the crispy chicken sandwich, fries and chocolate milk would not.

The county public health department will enforce the law with a $250 fine for the first violation, $500 for the second and up to $1,000 after that.

Restaurant Association spokesman Daniel Conway said his 22,000-member group was against the ordinance — and so were many county residents who think government is going too far.

Conway said a poll by his organization showed that 80 percent of county residents contacted said banning toys included in restaurant meal promotions is not an important issue for local government.

“The message they (supervisors) are sending is that parents are making the wrong choices and therefore they should no longer have the choice,” Conway said.

When Amalia Chamorro, speaking on behalf of the state restaurant association, turned to ask how many of the audience — many of them Latino and several of them who work in the fast-food industry — would oppose the ordinance, the majority rose their hands.

Among about two dozen public speakers who addressed the board were local fast food franchise owners who said their menus already include healthy alternatives.

Furniture installer Stephen Hazel told the board that the ordinance was meaningless because families could just as easily patronize restaurants in neighboring cities that offer toys with meals. And next on their list of banned foods, he suggested, could be pizza and Taco Bell.

Tracy Nashner, a San Jose mother of two, told the board she opposed the ban because she didn’t believe there is a link between the toys and any obesity problem. “We don’t go for the toy,” she said, but for the food.