[Wasagdu] HB 2822

[Marci Carpenter]

Hi Debby,

I agree with you that the police may very well not respond to this level of call since it is not likely to be a life-threatening emergency (unless someone gets bit or goes into anaphylactic shock or something like that). I understand the concerns of disabled people, especially those with cognitive or mental disabilities, about fearing interactions with police and not being sure if they could answer questions the way a cop might expect do to hearing, cognitive or other communications issues. One need only read stories of interactions between police and deaf, autistic or mentally ill people to know all the bad things that can happen. I believe it is important for us to understand proposed legislation in detail and also to understand what will likely be strong and vocal opposition to this bill. Disability Rights Washington has a strong presence at the legislature.

I just think it is important for us to think about all of these issues. I agree that this bill could be helpful for us and other legitimate service animal users. Business owners, bus drivers and others are incredibly reluctant to ask the 2 legitimate questions even now.

Thanks for your thoughtful notes. I appreciate everyone’s thoughts on this and I appreciate what I can learn from all of you since I am not a guide dog user.

Yours in the Federation,

Marci
> On Feb 14, 2018, at 3:49 PM, Debby Phillips via WASAGDU <wasagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi Marci, I just don't think that the cops are going to come every time a business calls. Sorry, but I just don't think they will. But even if they do, it seems to me that if someone has a legitimate service dog, they would want the assurance that the law will be enforced against fake service animals. I'm not saying that guide dogs don't misbehave or do bad things. They are, after all, dogs. But we have fought long and hard for our rights to enter businesses accompanied by our dogs. Most of us try hard to keep our dogs in control and working well, only sometimes to have our dogs attacked, to now have to go through major inconveniences if flying Delta Airlines, all the while people who choose to pass off their pets often get away with it because people don't want to offend somebody with a genuine disability who has a genuine service dog. If fining someone who has a pet they're trying to pass off as a service dog makes it less likely that other people will pass off their pets, then I guess I support it. But I also think that there should be more training of business owners, and I also think that there should be more meetings with folks who use service dogs, so that we understand each other better. I sometimes think that people with other disabilities are not aware of the history of what happened before, and they don't understand how hard the battle was. It is we who have used guide dogs who have paved the way for all these others, and I also don't think they always understand what is and is not acceptable behavior for service dogs. So at this point, I still support the bill, because I think some people are overreacting to it. Just my thoughts.     Debby
> 
> On Feb 12, 2018 8:35 PM, Marci Carpenter via WASAGDU <wasagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>> A friend of mine just sent me the link below which outlines Disability Rights Washington’s opposition to HB 2822. When I first read the bill I thought it seemed like a good bill. Would it really address the behavior issue, though? I would be interested in your thoughts after you read this piece.
>> 
>> Marci
>> 
>> https://www.disabilityrightswa.org/2018/02/12/shb-2822-will-lead-harassment-people-legitimate-service-animals-not-less/
>> 
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