As with most issues, there are about eighty sides--many of them well-reasoned--to take on this issue. I think. About all I know for certain is that I find it troubling. The issue is jobs. Or, more specifically, jobs at any cost.
When I saw the citation to this article, I had to dig a bit just to see if it was real (by dig, I mean find the HB number, enter it into the Florida House of Representatives website and read). The bill, Florida HB 4063, suggests repealing a section of the ABT laws that prohibits, and I quote from the header to 4063, "beverage licensees maintaining, owning, or operating certain commercial establishments from allowing exploitation of persons with dwarfism."
This piece of legislation was introduced last week by Ritch Workman, Brevard County Republican, who apparently believes it unnecessarily inhibits employment in Florida. My guess is he can't figure out how to get our very un-taxed corporations to hire, but he has some input on bar owners who want to toss people around (not out).
I'm kind of thinking this through--like I said, my initial reaction is it's just wrong. I mean, what kind of world do we live in where the entertainment value of throwing someone across a room (regardless of size) is up for discussion? Or that the line "it creates jobs" is the answer to any question? Yes, we need jobs--I'm not arguing with that. Or, rather, we need purposeful work to engage in, and we need to provide food, shelter and clothing to varying degrees of preference, and in our society, that pretty much comes down to having a job.
But...I find it discomforting that anyone, of any political stripe, thinks this law needs repealing (to make it clear, the current law BANS the practice; the new bill wants to make it legal again). What's next? Repealing child labor laws, maybe making sweatshops popular (it costs less than keeping them in hiding, you know)? We already see environmental regulations under attack (again). Although, I'd suggest that increasing regulation and funding it would actually create more jobs than not...but I digress.
I guess my question is, is there a moral imperative that ought to be imposed or adhered to, OR does it become patronizing, suggesting that just because you fall into a particular category, once you're an adult, you can't be trusted to make up your own mind about appropriate employment? I did see a quote from someone who wants to be tossed, comparing it to a sport (basketball) in which height (or lack thereof) is an advantage. Is that like legislating restaurant dress code in order to keep certain chain restaurants from dressing their (female) servers in bright orange shorts and tight tees, because it's exploitative (which assumes women aren't bright enough to make up their own minds about these sorts of things, and that reasonable minds can disagree).
Thoughts?