UPDATED.....By now, Massachusetts State Sen. Jarrett T. Barrios realizes he has really stepped in it. His plan to sponsor a legislative amendment limiting the serving of Fluffernutters to once weekly in school lunchrooms has revealed this Democrat's true colors. Yea, verily: vulnerable kids - especially Barrios' own third-grader - must be protected by the state from the insidious appeal of Marshmallow Fluff! Not only have world-famous libertarian-leaning bloggers given Barrios whatfor, the Boston Globe reports today he's also taking a beating from fellow legislators because Marshmallow Fluff is an iconic Massachusetts-made product.

If he had still been running for district attorney, would he have have held his tongue about the social menace that is Marshmallow Fluff? Perhaps not. Because for "the first openly gay Hispanic Massachusetts state senator" overbearing statism is nothing new. In this 2005 Globe op-ed, Barrios and a fellow legislator argue the problem of school bullies requires intervention from schools, the state, trainers, experts, community leaders, police, district attorneys, and especially.......video game makers. The authors mention parents only in a dismissive manner at the very beginning, as if they have little bearing upon behavorial problems of their children.

The would-be Fluffbuster has degrees from Harvard and Georgetown Law, and embraced identity politics as an undergraduate in Cambridge. After he was elected in 1998 to the state house, this profile of Barrios appeared in the campus paper.

Barrios, who is originally from Tampa, Fla., said he first become interested in civil service through his involvement in community service and "issues politics" while at Harvard, including serving as chair of the bisexual, gay, lesbian student association and as a night supervisor of a Harvard Square homeless shelter....Affordable housing, quality child care and quality education are a few of the many issues to which Barrios says he will devoted his time.

....Barrios says he is the first openly gay man elected to the House as a non-incumbent and one of three first-term Latinos this year. Before this election, only one Latino had ever served in the House, and his last term ended in 1992. Barrios credits the activism of the gay community, which he estimates makes up about 15 to 20 percent of the voters in the district, for much of his support. "[My homosexuality] informs my agenda," he says. "It is important that we recognize the obligations of society to allow all citizens to participate fully in the political process," he says. In addition, Barrios says he hopes to be "a strong voice for people of color."

And now, at least until things quickly got messy, for kids victimized by Marshmallow Fluff.

TECHNORATI TAGS: JARRET T. BARRIOS, MARSHMALLOW FLUFF, GAY HISPANIC, ANTI-BULLYINGG, STATISM, IDENTITY POLITICS, MASSACHUSETTS STATE LEGISLATURE, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, HARVARD, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL