[Fabs] Urgent!

[FABS]

Good  after noon state leaders,

 
 We are currently pushing a petition to the White House to move forward the process of creating regulations defining accessibility of the internet. The Obama administration directed the department of Justice to create such regulations back in 2010. Now the White House and DoJ indicate that regulations should not be expected until 2018. This is too long to wait, and there is serious risk that the next President and Justice Department may not have the same views on internet accessibility as the current ones. For this reason, we have started a “We the People” petition to the White House. This is a White House program wherein any petition that garners 100,000 signatures is guaranteed to receive a formal response from the administration. We have just 10 days to hit this goal, and we are a long way off. I am asking each of you, please sign this petition at the following link:
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/direct-us-department-justice-promptly-release-ada-internet-regulations
 
And after you have signed, please share with friends, family, coworkers, and other contacts, asking them to do the same. Please post the link and explanation on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media. But remember, simply sending a good old fashioned email to people who know with a bit of background and the ask can be the most effective way to spur action. I have pasted below the text of an email that I sent to my friends and family in case it is useful. Feel free to use the bits you like and disregard those that you don’t.
 
Remember, 100,000 signatures means the White House has to formally respond to this concern. This really matters. Please take the minute to go sign your name. It is very easy:
1>    Enter your name, email address, and zip code.
2. Click the button to submit. (Note that users of JAWS and Internet Explorer have to route JAWS to PC and do an insert+8 to simulate a left click to activate the button.)
3. Go to your email inbox, open the message that is sent to you, and click the confirm link.
4. Share this far and wide!
 
Thanks for the help and please let me know with any questions.
 
Take care,
 
Paul Martinez
 
Message to contacts:
 
Dear friends and colleagues,
 
I need you to sign a petition that forces action and actually matters:
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/direct-us-department-justice-promptly-release-ada-internet-regulations
 
The American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA) went a long way toward ensuring that individuals who are blind, deaf, use a wheelchair, or have any number of different disabilities enjoy independent access to numerous aspects and benefits of our society. 25 years ago, the ADA produced regulations that ensure the accessibility of physical spaces (think of curb cuts for wheelchairs and Braille labels on doors). But, today, the internet has become an absolutely essential part of the daily life of virtually all Americans, and the ADA has nothing to say about the internet. That is why, in 2010, President Obama directed the Department of Justice to make rules defining accessibility of websites under the ADA. Regrettably, no such rules have materialized, and now they say it will be 2018 before they come out. Of course, in 2018, we may well have a Justice Department with different priorities than we do today, and the rules may be made much weaker, or scrapped altogether. This is why I need your help. The Obama administration, through it’s “We the People” initiative, promises to provide a formal response to any petition that garners 100,000 signatures. We are pushing a petition that would force the administration to either push the Department of Justice to release the regulations, or to explain to blind Americans like me why this is no longer a priority. This may sound trivial, but imagine you were blind. Imagine that there were technology that could enable you to access websites completely independently. In fact, such technology exists. I am using it right now. But developers often do not know exactly how to ensure that their websites and online services are accessible and usable with such technology. Now imagine that, like me, you found yourself frequently unable to use online banking, purchase airline tickets, engage in web commerce, access educational content, launch media players to enjoy entertainment and news, and fill out online applications. Further imagine that you, like me, knew full well that these barriers were artificial and unnecessary, and that if developers simply had guidelines on accessibility to follow, you, too, could feel like a fully valued and included member of our American family. We can make that happen, but the Obama administration and Justice Department must act. Please add your name to this petition. This isn’t “slacktivism,” if you and 99,999 others take the minute to do this, President Obama will have to explain to blind Americans why our access to the internet is no longer a priority. Please sign here:
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/direct-us-department-justice-promptly-release-ada-internet-regulations
 
It is easy as 1, 2, 3. Click the link above; provide your name, email address and zip code; and click the confirmation link in the autogenerated email that the White House sends you. That’s all! And it will have a real impact!
 
Please forward this far and wide, share on social media, and tell your friends to take 60 seconds to ensure that the internet is open to all Americans, including the blind.
 
Sincere thanks,

 Paul M. Martinez
President
 Florida Association of Blind Students
First  Vice President
National Federation of the Blind of Florida  Board of Directors
President
Florida State Wide Chapter of the national Federation of the Blind of Florida
E-mail: Paul09ms at gmail.com
Phone number:
813-390-5720
"Live the Life You Want"


-- 
Paul M. Martinez
President
 Florida Association of Blind Students
First  Vice President
National Federation of the Blind of Florida  Board of Directors
President
Florida State Wide Chapter of the national Federation of the Blind of Florida
E-mail: Paul09ms at gmail.com
Phone number:
813-390-5720
"Live the Life You Want"