19th anniversary of ADA
Nineteen years ago the American’s for Disabilities Act was signed into law. Before this law there were numerous "ugly" laws passed by cities across the United States making it illegal for the disabled to appear in public or live in communities with the able bodied. The ADA made it illegal to have these types of "ugly" laws and to make all building accessible to the disabled. this law has made it possible for many with physical disabilities to get around, there are still many places that ignore the law. In Georgia, many communities around Atlanta believe that they do not have to follow the ADA and produce buildings that the disabled can access. Instead the building owners say that they have been "Grandfathered" in by some unknown local law that somehow usurps the federally mandated ADA. Just a few days ago this site wrote up a story on how Atlanta was not following the ADA law and appeared to all out disregard federal mandates. However, it is a good time to give thanks to the law that allows many children to get the education they need through special education teachers that help them past their disability.
Note that the ADA does allow the disabled to sue those building owners and others that refuse to follow the law. Store owners that throw out the disabled because of a service dog or managers that do now want people in wheelchairs bringing the "wrong look" to their store can expect to be forced to do the right thing. However, most of the time the disabled cannot sue for monetary damages. I have personally been thrown out of a children’s clothing store because I brought Naomi, my service dog with me. She had on her cape and coat saying she was a service dog. I even gave a copy of the law with outlined sections to the owners but they said that dogs were not allowed in stores in their home country so that is the way it is here. After trying to explain otherwise we decided to call corporate office and they realized the lawsuit ahead of them and fired the manager. But people with small minds and power still exist and will try to make your life miserable.
So, we give thanks to the ADA and to the lawyers that work tirelessly to make sure our civil rights are not violated. But the small minded among us proves that much work needs to be done so that everyone that owns a business understands their requirements in the ADA and that they will be held responsible for hiring people that want to restore the "ugly" laws. Instituting new teeth in the ADA that would allow the disabled to sue for monetary damages is a good place to start. Otherwise we can expect to be asked to go to the back to of the bus, assuming that the bus even bothers to stop for us.
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