[Vision2020] Just When You Thought You've Read Everything . . .

[Tom Hansen]

Courtesy of Florida Today at:

http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20111008/NEWS01/310080019/Repeal-dwarf-tossing-ban-Workman-urges
 
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Repeal 'dwarf-tossing' ban, Workman urges

Big government hurts little people, legislator insists

By Don Walker | FLORIDA TODAY

State Rep. Ritch Workman is receiving national attention, but not in a way he’s particularly happy about.

The Melbourne Republican is becoming known throughout the land as the man who wants to bring dwarf tossing back to the Sunshine State.

Workman filed a bill this month to repeal the state’s law on dwarf tossing, which has been outlawed since 1989. Workman said Friday the intent of the bill is to strike from the books a law state government should never have passed. But, he said, it also could stimulate employment opportunities for little people suffering through a bad economy.

“I know it’s offensive to some, yet some people actually make a living by it,” said Workman, R-Melbourne. “But this has very little to do with the act of dwarf tossing. I find the act of tossing little people for entertainment ridiculous and ludicrous. My problem with the law I want to repeal is that it shouldn’t be a law. This was their employment. We found it distasteful and made it against the law. That’s not what the state is supposed to do.”

House Bill 4063 would repeal a Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco ban that restricts bars and clubs from “allowing exploitation of persons with dwarfism.” If approved by the Legislature, the ban would be lifted July 1.

Workman said his intent is being misconstrued as a jobs bill.

“I said, ‘Why would you take away jobs from somebody who wanted them? That’s gotten a lot of play,” he said. “It’s not a jobs bill, and has nothing to do with that. But it has everything to do with this: When I came across this law on the books it came across to me as Big Brother legislation. That’s not the kind of government I want to be a part of.”

Workman said he’s getting backlash through angry emails, some asking, “What’s next? Taking wheelchairs from the disabled” as a sporting event? Others, however, support his bill’s intent, he said.

Workman’s bill caught the attention of the New York Daily News, which dubbed it Workman’s cure for the state’s ailing economy, and Businessweek magazine, which carried a headline: “Dwarfs better off tossed than jobless.”

“I hate the fact this is getting press,” he said. “I get that it offends little people, I do. I didn’t mean for this publicity, but I stand by my original intent of the bill. I do not condone this activity. I do not. It’s repulsive. But do we single out every activity we find repulsive and make it illegal? Is that the state’s job? At the most, it’s an issue that should be dealt with at a local level. The state made a mistake in passing this law. It’s illegal merely for offending some people.”

The timing of Workman’s bill is unfortunate: October is Dwarfism Awareness Month, designated to raise awareness about the lives of people with dwarfism and issues that impact people of short stature.

“It’s kind of odd that it’s the same timing. I’m sure it’s not related, but I have no idea what his motivation is,” said David Doidge, a director for Little People of America, which represents about 6,000 little people nationally and 250 in Florida.

“I’m offended by the idea of repealing the ban,” said Doidge, who lives in Vero Beach. “He’s apparently looking at it as a job-killer idea, where it limits job options for little people. I don’t know anyone who would subject themselves to possible injury for the amusement of other people.”

Doidge said his organization will meet Sunday to determine what action it will take in response to Workman’s bill. Steps could include a media campaign, a lobbying effort or a show of force at the legislative session in January when the bill comes up for vote.

Workman called the timing of his bill pure coincidence.

“I did not know that,” he said, when told about Dwarfism Awareness Month. “And it certainly wasn’t filed on purpose for that.”

In 2008, Workman ran on an anti-government campaign.

“I hate big government,” Workman said Friday. “I think that’s a big problem we have in this country. When a government thinks it knows best, you’re in a lot of trouble.”

Workman is currently working to rid the state of outdated and overreaching laws, notably one that bans unwed couples from cohabitating if it includes associating in a “lascivious” manner. Others include coasting downhill in your car, and a requirement that bicyclists always have at least one hand on the handlebars while riding.

Currently, bars that stage dwarf tossing events face fines and loss of their liquor licenses.

“That’s a very dangerous activity,” Doidge said. “And it’s very demeaning to throw a person around. There’s a high degree of risk of injury for the little people because of neck and spinal problems.”

Workman said he doesn’t condone dwarf tossing.

“I can’t understand why people would pay to see this,” he said. “I would not be friends with people who decide this is what they want to do for a living, but why not let them do what they want to do?”

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State Representative Ritch Workman says Florida's ban on tossing dwarfs is a case of the state going too far.

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"Honest and true,
As the morning star.
Vote for just two,
Ament and Lamar."
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