Florida Republican seeks to reinstate “dwarf tossing”
A Florida lawmaker has made headlines around the nation for his proposal to repeal a job destroying regulation in his state, namely the 1989 ban on “dwarf-tossing.”
Republican state Rep. Ritch Workman introduced HB 4063 on Monday. The legislation would repeal provisions against the “exploitation of persons with dwarfism.”
It would allow bars and taverns in the state to hire people with dwarfism, wrap them in velcro or protective padding, and throw them around for the amusement of their customers.
“I’m on a quest to seek and destroy unnecessary burdens on the freedom and liberties of people,” Workman told The Palm Beach Post. “This is an example of Big Brother government.
“All that it does is prevent some dwarfs from getting jobs they would be happy to get,” he added. “In this economy, or any economy, why would we want to prevent people from getting gainful employment?”
Former President of Little People of America, Van Etten, said the crude practice exploited people with dwarfism, particularly alcoholics with low self-esteem. Because of specific health risks associated with dwarfism, “dwarf-tossing” is also very dangerous.
“The possibility of getting paralyzed is high,” David Dodge, Florida district director of the Little People of America, said. “And then to be used as an object for people’s amusement is very degrading.”
This begs the question: don’t the Republicans have better things to do than worry about tossing dwarfs.
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Carol Bell
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Surely this is a joke. This practice harks back ye olde English pubs where “little people” would be tossed in drunken contests to see who could toss them the farthest. It is both humiliating and dangerous to the little people. You would think that if there is a law against it there most likely was a problem with it at some point. Geesh, people. If this idiot wants to improve employment let’s undo laws against assassinating stupid politicians. Or better yet, let’s legalize prostitution, marijuana, moonshine, etc. and criminalize the ridiculous profits of the oil industry and banks, and the greedy bonus of the billionaire wall street CEO’s.
Bummer–While I’m sure that I could get some enjoyment out of something called “dwarf tossing” if there were no associated risks, I can’t seem to find fun in people getting hurt (which, by the way, is why I can’t stand America’s Funniest Home Videos).
Is there a role that OSHA could play in this, you know, for the good of the economy?
Looks like fun to me, and I imagine the dwarfs would welcome the jobs in these troubled economic times 🙂
I’ve never heard of such a thing! WTF??