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Dear Friend,

The Mississippi Justice Institute (MJI) has scored another victory for freedom in Mississippi!

The Wall Street Journal editorial board – whose members oversee the most widely-read editorial page in the world – even weighed in ([link removed]) on the victory, saying: “Mississippi residents have the highest obesity rate in the U.S., but the state is about to shed a few regulatory pounds. Raise your protein shake to personal trainer Donna Harris and her lawyers at the Mississippi Justice Institute.”

Our client, Donna Harris, is a fitness instructor and occupational therapist with a bachelor’s degree in nutrition and a master’s in occupational therapy. In 2020, she started a weight-loss program for paying customers that became an overnight success. But then the government threatened to throw her in jail for telling people how to drop a few pounds without having a dietician’s license. All of her advertisements made clear she was not a licensed dietician and was not trying to treat medical conditions. Rather, she was only giving advice to healthy people about the age-old topic of weight loss. But none of that mattered to the government.
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Donna had to refund all of her customers, but she fought back, suing the State for violating her right to free speech. And now, thanks to her lawsuit, anyone in Mississippi can now offer weight-loss advice as long as they do not claim to be a dietitian.

Allowing people to speak freely about general health and nutrition is a no-brainer, especially in a state like ours that struggles with obesity. The government should not be able to give any group a monopoly on speech about a common, everyday topic, like what food we should buy at the grocery store if we want to stay healthy or drop a few pounds. This victory will increase Mississippians’ access to important information about their health, while allowing more Mississippians to use their skills and knowledge to earn an honest living and provide for their families.

For decades, nonsensical occupational licensing regulations like these have been steadily accumulating in Mississippi and around the nation. It’s not surprising that this happened. We have been letting the fox guard the henhouse. Industry insiders regulate most professions and they have been quietly and steadily adding new rules that protect them from competition while doing little or nothing to provide better value to consumers. These rules took years to accumulate, and it will take years to trim them back to size. But seeing the impact that our efforts have in the lives of people like Donna make it a fight worth continuing.

In Liberty,

Aaron Rice
Director of MJI

P.S. Check out some of the recent media coverage of Donna’s legal victory!

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The Wall Street Journal covering Donna's legal victory!

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The Epoch Times covering Donna's legal victory!

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The Gallo Show featuring Aaron Rice, discussing recent victories
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Y'All Politics covering Donna's legal victory!

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