Dwarf Sues to Overturn Dwarf-Tossing Ban				
 				
November 29, 2001 10:51 AM ET 				
TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) - A radio broadcaster known as "Dave the Dwarf" has sued to overturn Florida's ban on "dwarf tossing," saying he should be allowed to decide for himself whether to participate in the barroom contests.  "Dwarf tossing" is a contest in which dwarfs don harnesses and allow bar patrons to hurl them through the air onto mattresses.  Florida banned it in 1989 amid intense lobbying from the advocacy group Little People of America, which said the contests were demeaning and encouraged people to treat dwarfs as objects. Bars that allow the contests can be stripped of their liquor licenses.  David Flood, a dwarf who is 38 inches (96.5 cm) tall, filed suit on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Tampa, challenging the ban as unconstitutional. He said it illegally singles out people with dwarfism.  "As soon as you have a physical handicap ... all of the sudden they treat you like you don't have a mind of your own," Flood told the Tampa Tribune. "Just because I'm 3-foot-2 doesn't mean I can't make decisions."  Flood, 37, works as "Dave the Dwarf" on the morning radio show on Tampa station WFLZ. 				



<Embedded Picture (Metafile)>