[Nfbwv-talk] Please Sign

[Smyth, Charlene R]

I would appreciate it if all of you would review the below message from Gabe and then click on the link to sign the petition.  Once you submit your information, you will need to wait for an E-mail response.  In the E-mail, you will be asked to click on a link to confirm your signing of the petition.  Your submission will not count until this is done.

Charlene

Howdy Federation Family,

On July 26, 2010, the twentieth anniversary of the signing of the historic Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) addressing the obligation of public accommodations to provide websites that are accessible to individuals with disabilities was issued by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). At the time, President Obama  correctly observed that these proposed rules would be "the most important updates to the ADA since its original enactment." Yet the release date of the actual rule proposal for revising the Title III regulations of the ADA, originally scheduled for January of 2012, has been extended until sometime in 2018, eight years beyond the issuance of the original ANPRM and at least a year after the end of his administration. Having originally taken a strong stance on the importance of these regulations, it now seems like the Obama administration is wishing to wash its hands of them entirely.

As blind Americans, we know first-hand that equal access to the internet is paramount for education, to obtain and retain employment, and for everyday tasks such as paying bills, online shopping, booking travel, etc. We will not sit idly by as the administration attempts to sideline this critical access issue, so we have launched a petition<http://wh.gov/iwm9o> demanding, in the strongest terms possible, that the administration issue these regulations immediately.

Upon reaching 100,000 signatures, the Obama administration is required to respond, so in addition to sharing our we the people petition<http://wh.gov/iwm9o> via Email and your social media outlets, please personally ask 10 family members, friends, and colleagues to sign it and share it as well. A little personal contact goes a long way!

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me; with your help, we will bring this critical issue for blind Americans to the forefront of the Obama administration's list of priorities. Let's go build the Federation!

...Gabe

Gabe Cazares
Government Affairs Specialist
National Federation of the Blind
200 East Wells Street
At Jernigan Place
Baltimore, MD 21230
E: gcazares at nfb.org<mailto:gcazares at nfb.org>
P: 410-659-9314 Ext. 2206
T: @gmcazares

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back.




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