[nagdu] Blind man calls room denial discrimination

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Blind Man Calls Room Denial Discrimination
Posted: Sep 12, 2010 11:55 PM EDT 
NewsChannel5.com
http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=13141107
  
Michael Turner says hotel denied him room because of seeing-eye
dog.
by Brent Frazier
 
Clarksville, TENN. - Michael Turner, a senior at the University
of Colorado at Boulder, is back in his native middle Tennessee
for what he hopes will be his last courtroom encounter with the
motel clerk who, according to him, discriminated against him by
denying him a motel room because he had a dog with him.
 
"I feel like I've been treated like a second class citizen since
that day," Turner told NewsChannel 5 on Sunday afternoon. Turner,
his wife, Miranda; and 3-year-old son, Michael; are back home in
Montgomery County for a Tuesday morning court hearing in their
civil case against Becky Jo McHughes, the front desk clerk at the
Microtel Inn and Suites that fateful day; the woman who was
slapped with a $50, misdemeanor citation for allegedly violating
Turner's civil rights by turning away his family and their dog,
Amberz. You see, Amberz was a service animal, a guide dog,
because Michael Turner is completely blind.
 
"I'm filing a civil suit against Microtel Inn and Suites and also
have an ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) complaint with the
Department of Justice," Turner said.
 
Turner said this will mark his third trip back to Montgomery
County to try to resolve this issue that began to unfold August
10, 2009.
 
The managing attorney at the Disability Law and Advocacy Center
of Tennessee, Martha M. Lafferty, could not comment on the Turner
case per se, but she was willing to talk in generalities when
NewsChannel 5 first broke the story last February.
 
"Hotels are required to allow people who use service animals to
bring those service animals with them," said Lafferty.
 
Turner said Microtel staffers likely thought his dog, Amberz, was
really a pet. Turner has leaned on assistance from guide dogs,
like Amberz, since 1999 when a motorcycle crash in Clarksville
claimed his eyesight.
 
"Service animals are not pets, ever," said Lafferty. "Service
animals are like wheelchairs. You wouldn't refuse somebody in a
wheelchair. So, why would you refuse somebody with a service
animal?"
 
The Center advises people with disabilities, who feel they are
being discriminated against, to call authorities and file a
police report. That's exactly what Turner did last year.
 
"I did have a restaurant once where I did have to call the
police," said Tricia Griggs, senior advocate for the Disability
Law and Advocacy Center of Tennessee. "Another one where I was on
the phone, calling the police."
 
Griggs teaches tolerance and sensitivity to the corporate world
regarding people with disabilities.
 
The front desk employee who allegedly denied Turner a room is
Becky Jo McHughes of Clarksville. Neither the management nor the
owner of the building on Holiday Drive returned NewsChannel 5
phone calls. Microtel corporate failed to comment, but did try to
encourage the owner to contact NewsChannel 5 regarding the
controversy.
 
"This type of discrimination has got to stop," said Turner in an
earlier interview. "I do not want anyone ever to feel like I felt
the day, when I went into that hotel and had my disability smack
me straight in the face, and felt like less of a person because
of my disability."
 
A misdemeanor charge was leveled against hotel clerk Becky Jo
McHughes, though it's not much more serious than a speeding
ticket.
 
Turner is hopeful the Tuesday court proceeding will bring
finality, and more importantly peace of mind.
 
"It was about principle," Turner said. "And about my personal
civil rights. It's never been about the money. It's about the
principle, and what I stand for."
 
 
 
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