First New York, then Philadelphia, and now Montgomery County. The trans fat ban bandwagon just got a little bit longer.

According to the Post, yesterday MoCo became the first county in the nation to ban trans fats, endorsing restrictions that have become all the rage in recent months with health advocates. The ban will kick off next January for restaurants and in 2009 for establishments offering baked goods, and will force food providers to use healthier oils such as canola or soy for baking and cooking purposes.

MoCo’s ban will surely raise fears among civil libertarians that the District is next. And it might be. Debate on whether or not to ban trans fats from the city’s restaurants has been simmering since 2005, and only last month Councilmember Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) introduced legislation that would effectively do so. Some retailers, notably Starbucks, even jumped the gun and announced earlier this year that ban or not, they’d be doing away with trans fats altogether.

We know how passionate you all are when it comes to bans. After all, pretty much every post we had on the smoking ban resulted in a deluge of comments, divided rather evenly between the “If you don’t like it, don’t come to my bar” camp and the “Cancer and smelly clothes should not be the consequence of a night out” crowd. What’s the feeling on the trans fat ban, especially for those of you living in MoCo? Is this one more step in the nanny-state gone wild, or a necessary protection for our health?