Florida Made Dwarf-Tossing a License Violation. Then the Ban Went to Court.

Florida's administrative rule specifically named dwarf-tossing among prohibited acts of exploitation. The prohibition applied on premises licensed under the state's beverage law and covered promoting, engaging in, or permitting the activity. The rule therefore placed the venue's license—not only the performance itself—at the center of enforcement.

That authority began with a statutory order. Florida law directed the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco to promulgate rules by October 1, 1989, barring licensed commercial establishments from permitting recreational activities that exploited a person with dwarfism. For a violation of the dwarf-tossing rule or related statute, the division could suspend or revoke a license and impose a civil penalty of up to $1,000. The documented mechanism was the permission to sell beverages, with the sanction attached to the establishment that held it.

In 2001, News24 reported that Dave Flood had filed a federal lawsuit seeking to overturn Florida's ban. The report identified Flood as a 96-centimetre-tall radio personality who appeared on a local morning talk show as "Dave the Dwarf." His lawsuit sought no monetary damages. It sought to remove the state's prohibition, although the report did not resolve the legal challenge.

The challenge later moved into the legislature. Little People of America said it strongly opposed Florida House Bill 4063, which it said would repeal the statewide ban. The organization said the bill was introduced on Monday, October 3, 2011. Its documented position opposed removing the restriction that Florida had tied to beverage licensing and civil penalties.