WA state legislator exempts Native Americans from life jacket bill because they have 'eons' of exper

[mountaineer]

WA state legislator exempts Native Americans from life jacket bill because they have 'eons' of experience in 'cold water'
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Native Americans have the highest rate of drowning among all racial demographics
Feb 11, 2022 12:47 AM EST
Katie Daviscourt

Washington state Democratic Representative Cindy Ryu introduced a new life jacket bill which exempts Native Americans from the legislation because they are allegedly less likely to drown due to "eons" of experience with Washington's cold waters.

House Bill 1707, sponsored by Ryu, requires individuals to wear personal flotation devices on kayaks, canoes, and stand-up paddleboards– an amendment to current state law which requires individuals to only wear life jackets on boats. However, Native Americans are exempt from the legislation.

During a remote committee hearing, Ryu defended exempting Native Americans from the legislation by falsely claiming they wouldn't drown because they have "eons" of experience with the "cold water." According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Native Americans have the highest rate of drowning among all racial demographics.

"The few exemptions you see, including the tribal members – federally recognized tribal members exemptions – are based on responses from the community," Ryu said. "These are situations where they have either extensive training or (are) traditionally very used to our cold waters for eons, essentially, or are very closely supervised." ...

Full story at Post Millennial
 

[Kamaji]

Wow.  That is so nakedly racist it's not even funny.

It would be the same as exempting black employees from minimum wage legislation because "they have eons of experience working hard jobs for little or no pay" and so don't need the protections afforded by minimum wage legislation.