[Nfbmo] I hope you are writing and calling

[Melissa Smith]

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Melissa Smith

On 6/19/2017 5:53 PM, Gary Wunder via Nfbmo wrote:
> At Saturday's board meeting we talked about HR 620, the ADA Education  > and Reform Act of 2017. What it says is that if some public > 
accommodation or business discriminates against you, you have the > 
responsibility not only to tell them about the law, but you must give > 
them sixty days in which to respond to your concern. Below is the > 
letter I sent to Representative Vicky Hartzler. I hope you will > write. 
We work too hard to get the legislation that protects us > enabled to 
silently sit by and watch as it is dismantled. Getting a > quality 
education and a good job is an uphill battle at best. We > don't need 
obstacles deliberately placed in our path. We don't > exercise all of 
the control in the situation, but we do have the > opportunity to let 
our views be known, to say to our representatives > from Missouri that 
we are constituents who demand the right to be > heard, to be 
considered, and to be understood. Please do your part. > My letter is 
below: > > > > > > Dear Representative Hartzler: > > > > I strongly urge 
that you oppose HR 620. This bill proposes to > eliminate frivolous 
claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act, > but it totally 
misses the mark. Its remedy is to say that none of the > provisions of 
the act can be enforced unless a person with a > disability who 
encounters discrimination first explains that > discrimination to the 
person or business offering a service and then > gives the business or 
public accommodation sixty days to respond. > When a blind person 
encounters a website that will not work with > screen reading software 
and attempts to apply for a job using that > site, what are the chances 
that that job will remain open? When a > blind person finds it necessary 
to sue a university because the > professor says there is no place for a 
blind person in the class, how > will that person ever participate if he 
or she must tell the > professor and the University that discrimination 
is occurring and > then give them sixty days to respond? What other law 
suggests that > those it is meant to protect must be the educators? I 
can think of > none, and for me the message that gets sent over and over 
again is > that blind people must wait, wait, wait. If this were a new 
law, I > could understand a phase-in or maybe even some kind of a > 
grandfathering provision, but this law has been on the books since > 
1990. The ADA has received all kinds of news coverage both in the > 
general media and in publications that are read by businessmen and > 
women. > > > > If you want to stop lawsuits filed by big law firms that 
do not > truly represent the interests of blind people and do not result 
in > changes in the behavior of public institutions and businesses, 
figure > out a way that does not put all the responsibility on the 
person or > persons being discriminated against. The challenges that 
face blind > people in getting an education and seeking employment are 
already > substantial enough; let our laws encourage not discourage. I 
think it > is nothing less than reasonable for blind and otherwise 
disabled > people to expect this of you. Please do not support House 
Bill 620-in > fact, actively oppose it, and be an evangelist for seeing 
that blind > people get an education, a job, and a first-class place in 
our > first-class communities. > > > > > > > > Gary Wunder > > > > 
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