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quick, once-a-day look at disability rights, self-determination
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movement toward full community inclusion around the world.
Thursday, January 8, 2004
Year V, Edition 854
Today's front page features 8 news and information items,
each preceded by a number (#) symbol.
Click on the"Below the Fold"
link at the bottom of this page for more 34 news items.
QUOTES OF THE DAY:
"Children who are specialized learners need
typical role models about them, they need regular kids around them so that they
can learn about being a person, and have friends for their
self-esteem."
--Actress Laura San Giacomo, an advocate for inclusive
education and for her 8-year-old son, Mason (Fifth story)
"Particular attention must be given to the emotional and sexual
dimensions of disabled persons. It is an aspect that is often eliminated or
addressed in a superficial and reductive or even ideological
way."
--Pope John Paul II, in a statement Thursday to the Symposium on
the Dignity of the Person with Mental Disabilities (Second story)
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# ADVOCACY / LAWS
Advocates Plan "Stair
Crawl" At Supreme Court
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily
Express
January 8, 2004
WASHINGTON, DC--To demonstrate the
humiliating situation George Lane was put in at the steps of Polk County
Courthouse, in Benton, Tennessee, disability rights advocates plan to crawl up
the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday morning when his case is to be
heard there.
The case, Tennessee v. Lane and Jones, once again pits the rights of millions of people with disabilities against "states' rights".
Lane filed suit against Tennessee in 1998 for violating his right to equal access to the courts under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Because there was no elevator or other accommodations at the Polk County Courthouse, Lane, who lost a leg in an auto accident, had to crawl up two flights of stairs for an arraignment on misdemeanor traffic charges. When a pretrial hearing was later scheduled, Lane made his way to the ground floor of the courthouse. Once there, he refused to again crawl up the two flights of stairs to the courtroom. Even though he sent word to the judge that he was downstairs, officials arrested and jailed Lane for "failure to appear" in court.
Lane then sued the state for failing to follow the 1990 federal anti-discrimination law.
Beverly Jones, a court reporter who uses a wheelchair, later joined Lane in his suit. She claims that the state's failure to make county courthouses accessible to her wheelchair has presented a hardship for her. Jones contends that she was unable to even enter four county courthouses where lawyers had hired her to record court proceedings. She listed another 19 Tennessee counties that have inaccessible courthouses.
After lower courts ruled for Lane and Jones, Tennessee's Attorney General Paul Summers appealed the case all the way to the Supreme Court.
Summers is arguing that people cannot sue states under the ADA because states have "sovereign immunity". That argument worked two years ago in the case of Alabama v. Garrett when the high court ruled that a state employee with a disability could not sue her employer.
The Tennessee case, however, has to do with Title II of the ADA which requires "public services, programs or activities" to be made accessible. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled earlier that states can be sued if they violate citizens rights of due process -- which is a function of the courts.
A number of states, disability groups and legal associations have filed briefs supporting Lane and Jones. Groups including ADA Watch, the National Coalition for Disability Rights and the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law are organizing several events surrounding Tuesday's oral arguments.
"Sadly, the Supreme Court case puts Tennessee on a collision course with the ADA and the millions of people in all 50 states whose lives have been enriched by the law," wrote Jim Ward, president of the National Coalition for Disability Rights, in an opinion piece for Wednesday's Memphis Commercial Appeal. "It would be tragic if Tennessee's proud legacy were tarnished by being known as the state that turned back the clock on this progress."
Related:
"Tennessee in role of ADA spoiler" (Memphis Commercial
Appeal)
http://www.InclusionDaily.com/news/04/red/0108c.htm
"State
of Tennessee v. George Lane and Beverly Jones" (Inclusion Daily Express
Archives)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/access/lane.htm
---
# RELATIONSHIPS
Pope Says People With Mental Disabilities Need
To Love And Be Loved
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily
Express
January 8, 2004
VATICAN CITY--Pope John Paul II said Thursday
that people with mental disabilities should have their needs for intimacy and
sexual expression respected.
The statement came in a lengthy message sent to the Symposium on the Dignity of the Person with Mental Disabilities, which continues through Friday.
"Particular attention must be given to the emotional and sexual dimensions of disabled persons," the papal message stated. "It is an aspect that is often eliminated or addressed in a superficial and reductive or even ideological way."
"The sexual dimension is, however, one of the constitutive dimensions of the person who, insofar as created in the image of God Love, is originally called to manifest itself in encounter and communion," he added.
"The assumption for the emotional-sexual education of the handicapped person lies in the conviction that he has the same need for affection as any other person," the Pope continued.
"They also need to love and be loved. They need affection, closeness and intimacy."
The pope said that community life has shown that, with the right kind of support, people with disabilities can have "rich, productive and satisfying interpersonal relationships."
"Discrimination based on efficiency is no less condemnable than discrimination based on race, sex or religion," he said.
Related:
"Mentally Handicapped Have Need to Love, Says John Paul
II" (Zenit News Agency)
http://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=47074
---
# FAMILIES / LAWS
Mom Gets Reprieve From U.S. Immigration
Officials
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
January 8,
2004
TURLOCK, CALIFORNIA--Felipa Gutierrez got good news Wednesday.
Officials with the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in San Francisco announced that they are delaying her planned deportation to Mexico, so they can review her request to stay with her 5-year-old son in California.
Felipa, who has been in the U.S. illegally since 1989, wants her son Gabi to receive the education and therapies he needs. Gabi, who has autism, was born in the U.S. and is a legal citizen. His father, Gabriel, is a legal permanent U.S. resident currently training for a trucker's license. It is unlikely he would be able to take care of the boy if his mother were deported.
Felipa showed up at the immigration office Wednesday expecting to be deported. Accompanying her and her family were her attorney, Solange Altman, and Paul Billodeau Jr., the director of case management services at Valley Mountain Regional Center, where Gabi currently receives services. Such services would not be available for Gabi in his mother's native country.
If the reprieve lasts until April, a visa should be available for Felipa, based on a marriage petition her husband filed.
"She gets to tuck her child into bed tonight," Altman told the Modesto Bee.
Related article:
"Turlock mother gets reprieve as order of
deportation reviewed" (Modesto Bee)
http://www.modbee.com/local/story/7977340p-8849219c.html
---
# ARTS / EMPLOYMENT
Gateway Arts Features Works By Artists
With Disabilities
January 8, 2004
BROOKLINE,
MASSACHUSETTS--Thursday's Boston Globe featured a brief story about Gateway
Arts, which for the last 30 years has featured professional artists with
disabilities.
"Making art professionally can create a life that is of value and one that gives value back to society," said Gateway's director Rae Edelson.
Eighty-five artists currently create pieces at the studio, then sell them at the Gateway Gallery, Crafts Store, or outside venues. The artists get 60 percent of the sales, while the program puts the remaining 40 percent back into materials.
Eight Gateway artists will have their works shown in the "Outsider Art Fair" in New York's Soho later this month.
Related:
"Gateway center deals in art without barriers" (Boston
Globe)
http://www.InclusionDaily.com/news/04/red/0108b.htm
Gateway
Arts
http://www.gatewayarts.org
---
# EDUCATION / ADVOCACY
Actress Laura San Giacomo Advocates For
Inclusive Education
January 8, 2004
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS--The
following three paragraphs are excerpts from a brief story by ABC7Chicago
disability reporter Karen Meyer:
Even though she's had a successful career, actress Laura San Giacomo says her most enduring role is being an advocate for educating kids with disabilities. As a mother of a child with learning and physical disabilities, Laura San Giacomo is a strong supporter for inclusive educational opportunities for all children. Last month, she was in Chicago speaking at the Annual TASH Conference.
"Children who are specialized learners need typical role models about them, they need regular kids around them so that they can learn about being a person, have friends for their self-esteem," said Giacomo.
We cannot show pictures of Laura's 8-year-old-son Mason for security reasons, but she talked a lot about him.
Entire story, with link to related video clip:
"Actress heads to
classroom" (ABC7Chicago.com)
http://www.InclusionDaily.com/news/04/red/0108a.htm
---
# TODAY'S FEATURED ACCESSIBILITY WEBSITE
Section 508 of the
Rehabilitation Act: Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility
Standards
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act requires access to electronic and information technology procured by Federal agencies. The Access Board developed accessibility standards for the various technologies covered by the law. These standards have been folded into the Federal government's procurement regulations.
http://www.access-board.gov/508.htm
---
# EXPRESS EXTRA!!! From the Inclusion Daily Express Archives One year ago:
LAWS
NIMBY Bites Developers
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion
Daily Express
January 8, 2003
HARRIS, MINNESOTA--You've heard the
term NIMBY (Not In My Backyard)?
Well, the NIMBY way of thinking just cost Dennis and Susan Gustafson $250,000.
The Gustafsons are the developers of a new housing development called Whispering Pines.
Last year they refused to sell three lots at Whispering Pines to Randy Perron and his family. Perron, a former Washington County sheriff’s deputy, has been paralyzed for seven years since he had a stroke related to Hodgkin's Disease. He wanted to have a house of his own and rent out rooms to three other people with similar disabilities. Randy's parents and a sister wanted to buy land on either side of his house so they could live nearby.
The Gustafsons said they did not want a group home in their development -- especially one across the street from them.
The Perrons filed complaints against the Gustafsons with state and federal agencies. The U.S. Attorney’s District of Minnesota Office then filed a complaint against the developers claiming they violated the Fair Housing Act last August.
A settlement was reached on New Year's Eve. The Gustafsons must pay $250,000 to the Perron family, a realtor and a home builder. They must also sell the lots to the Perrons for $49,500 each.
Related article:
"Discrimination lawsuit settled" (East Central
Minnesota Post Review)
http://www.ecm-inc.com/news/postreview/2003/January/8discrimination.html
---
# DISCUSSION BOARD
Check in with other Inclusion Daily Express
readers:
http://members5.boardhost.com/InclusionDaily
---
# BELOW THE FOLD
Click here for the rest of today's
disability-related news:
http://www.InclusionDaily.com/news/04/btf/01080442.htm
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