Disability Rights

By: Aaron Krein

What are Disability Rights?Disability Rights is the for the equality among the mentally and physically disabled. Examples include the handicapped, the deaf, the blind, the mentally challenged, etc.

History• PWD were first acknowledged by the government in the late twentieth century.• Before then, PWD were assigned to places like asylums, nursing homes, and homelessshelters because they were considered an embarrassment to society.• The Smith-Fess Vocational Rehabilitation Act was enacted after World War I to support veterans who needed rehabilitation and medical procedures. In 1943, the mentally challenged were added to the law.• In 1961, Timothy Nugent of the University of Illinois published guidelines to make buildings remodelled with handicapped accessibility. It was met with little change.• Seven years later, the National Commission on Architectural Barriers introduced standards called “Designs for All Americans” which were improved by the federal government. It included handicapped accessibility as well but was also ignored. That same year, the Architectural Barriers Act with the same concept and received the same turnout.• After the instalment of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the disabilities rights movement had begun. The movement led to the ratifications of many bills such as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (PWD allowed in public schools) and the Air Carriers Act (PWD allowed to use air travel).• The enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990 is considered the most successful moment in the movement so far.

Article Analysis #1“Treaty for Disabled Rights Falls Short in Senate”

By: Bobby Caina Calvan, the Boston Globe

The article is about the proposed bill, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which was turned down by the Senate on December 5th of last year. The bill would have strongly supported the rights of those with disabilities.

• 125 countries have already adopted this treaty including China and Russia.

• The Senate voted 61 to 83. The bill needed 1/3rd of the vote to be enacted.

• The bill has been supported by:o President Barack Obama’s Administrationo Massachusetts Senator John F. Kerryo Former President George W. Busho Former Senator Majority Leader Bob Doleo Arizona Senator John McCain

• The bill was approved by all democrats, eight republicans, and two independents. The bill was rejected by the rest of the republicans.

Article Analysis #2“Study Shows Voters with Disabilities Face Barriers”

By: Gregory Korte, USA Today

• U.S. Federal Judge Deborah Batts ordered the New York City Board of Elections to better accommodate PWD. There have been many complaints by people with no resulting action. Batts noted that the wheelchair ramps were either too steep or narrow, the scarcity of wheelchair entrance signs, and the voting booths pushed against the wall making it hard for the handicapped to participate.

• 27% of the polling places in the United States during the 2008 presidential election were no accessible to the disabled, according to the Government Accountability Office.

• Most PWD are democratic. An example would be the 2004 presidential election when John Kerry had 3 percentage points above George W. Bush.

This article is about the dropping number of PWD at the polls on Election Day. There are over 2.3 million people with disabilities in this country. Most

PWD have to vote using the absentee ballot because it’s difficult to enter the polling place itself.

Programs/Advocacy Groups• The Disability Advocates of America in Pinckneyville, Illinois helps PWD when filing for Social Security and getting their disability benefits.

• The Disability Rights Advocacy Group, Inc. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania looks for change regarding PWD in the area. This group was able to generate awareness that led to wheelchair-accessible sidewalks and ATMs in their city.

• There are also advocacy groups that focus on change in their state like the New York State Disabilities Advocacy Association & Network. There are also advocacy groups dedicated to the country as a whole like the National Disability Rights Network in Washington, D.C.

Current Statistics• Over 52 million Americans have at least one disability. This is estimated to double in the next twenty years.• As of 2011, California has the most PWD with 359,623 and Wyoming has the least with 5,706. • According to a census report from 2000, African Americans and Native Americans have the most PWD with 24.3 percent for each. The Asian community has the least PWD with 16.6 percent.• Out of 69.6 million families, 20 million families have at least one relative with a disability. • As previously stated, about 3.2 million Americans who are living with disabilities are unable to vote at the polls on Election Day.

ConclusionDisability rights are an issue in our country that should not be ignored. The discrimination and unfortunate circumstances thrown at PWD can be stopped and future bills could help modify it. Hopefully someday equality will be reached for PWD on multiple levels in our country.

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