Sign the ADA Watch Petition in Support of George Lane, Beverly Jones and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA):
Background:
This term, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear another case involving the constitutionality of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). At issue in the case, called State of Tennessee v. George Lane and Beverly Jones, is whether Congress had the constitutional authority to require states to pay money damages for violations of Title II of the ADA, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by State and local governments. A negative ruling might suggest that Congress did not have the power to enact many of the core provisions of Title II and diminish the ability of people with disabilities to enforce their civil rights in court.
Petition:
WHEREAS, the undersigned individual or organization supports the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990,
to establish a clear and comprehensive prohibition of discrimination on the basis of disability; and
WHEREAS, the undersigned supports the specific goal of Title II of the ADA that: No qualified individual with a disability shall, on the basis of disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs, or activities of public entity, or be subjected to discrimination of any individuals with disabilities; and
WHEREAS, the undersigned supports the integration mandate of Title II of the ADA: A public entity shall administer services, programs, and activities in the most integrated setting appropriate to the needs of qualified individuals with disabilities; and
WHEREAS, George Lane, a single above-the-knee amputee, was summoned to appear in court and forced to crawl his way up two flights of stairs in a courthouse with no elevator or other accommodations required by the ADA. At a second hearing, he refused to again crawl up two flights of stairs. Lane, despite notifying the judge that he was downstairs, was then arrested for not appearing in court; and
WHEREAS, Beverly Jones, a court reporter who is a paraplegic, is repeatedly denied opportunity to work in county courthouses because of lack of wheelchair accessibility; and
WHEREAS, Lane and Jones successfully sued the state of Tennessee under Title II of the ADA. The state of Tennessee appealed that decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, claiming that the state is shielded from a key provision of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by states rights or sovereign immunity; and
WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court will hear Tennessee v. Lane in the current session.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, the undersigned asks the honorable Justices of the United States Supreme Court to uphold the letter and the spirit of the federal disability rights mandates of the ADA as passed by Congress and signed into law by the President. The issues that Tennessee seeks through the appeal should not be resolved at the expense of the cherished rights of citizens with disabilities; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the undersigned encourages other state governments to waive immunity and fully comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
(ADA Watch thanks Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), National Association for Protection and Advocacy Systems (NAPAS), and the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law for text included in this petition.)