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ಮುಖಪುಟ / ಸಂಪುಟಗಳು / ಟ್ಯಾಗ್ civil disobedience 36
- ADAPT (532)
3/14/90 100 Disabled Arrested on Hill by Stephen Buckley, Washington Post Staff Writer About 100 persons with disabilities were arrested in the Capitol Rotunda yesterday during a demonstration calling for greater rights for the handicapped, U.S. Capitol Police said. Most of those arrested were members of American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation, a Denver-based organization that plans protests in Washington throughout the week to bring attention to the Americans with Disabilities Act. The measure was passed by the Senate last September and is being considered by the House. Yesterday's arrests occurred after about 150 members of ADAPT listened to House Speaker Thomas S. Foley (D-Wash.), House Minority Leader Robert H." Michel (R-Ill.) and Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) discuss the disabilities act. After the lawmakers spoke to them, the demonstrators began chanting. They were asked to leave the rotunda, but refused, said Greg Nevitt, a U.S. Capitol Police spokesman. Those who did not leave were arrested, he said. Hoyer is the chief sponsor of the Americans With Disabilities Act, which seeks to bar discrimination against those with disabilities in several areas: private sector employment, public accommodations, services provided by state and local governments, telecommunications and transportation. Nevitt said those arrested were charged with demonstrating in the Capitol rotunda and unlawful entry. They are slated to be arraigned in D.C. Superior Court tomorrow. - ADAPT (526)
Handicapped protesters arrested THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 3/14/90 Demonstrators in wheelchairs were arrested in the U.S. Capitol yesterday after confronting House leaders with demands for quick passage of legislation guaranteeing them civil rights protections. A crowd of more than 100 disabled demonstrators threatened civil disobedience and interrupted House Speaker Thomas Foley and House Minority Leader Robert Michel as the congressional leaders tried to speak over the din in the cavernous Capitol Rotunda. After the congressmen left, about 70 disabled people assembled in the center of the Rotunda and began chanting in an attempt to provoke arrest. Capitol Police, standing nearby, encircled the protesters and began taking them into custody. Outside the Capitol, police began placing the protesters - most in wheelchairs - into several government-owned vans. The demonstrators were being charged with unlawful entry and demonstrating within the Capitol, said Capitol Police Officer G.T. Nevitt. The first charge carries a maximum sentence of six months in jail and a $100 fine; the second, six months in jail and a $500 fine. “It is a priority for passage in this session of the Congress." Mr. Foley shouted over catcalls from the protesters. “I am absolutely satisfied it will reach the floor, we will have a conference with the Senate and it will become law." “Will it be on the floor in 24 hours? No,” Mr. Foley added in a statement greeted with a chorus of boos. “I am not going to set an artificial deadline that prevents the committees from sending a bill to the floor that they can defend," he said. It was the second day of lobbying by the disabled. On Monday, dozens of people crawled out of their wheelchairs and up the steps of the Capitol to dramatize their demands. The focus of the protest was the Americans with Disabilities Act, which was passed by the Senate last year but has bogged down in the House, despite widespread predictions of its ultimate passage. The measure would outlaw discrimination based on physical or mental disability in employment, access to buildings, use of the telephone system, use of public and private transportation, and other situations. The Capitol has ramps for wheelchair access to two of its entrances and ramps and elevators inside to enable people confined to wheelchairs to get around. During the midday face off in the Rotunda, Mr. Foley sought to assure the disabled that House leaders “want to see that this bill has the greatest possible support and will reach the president's desk in a way that he can sign it." Mr Michel told the crowd he had broached the issue earlier yesterday in a meeting with President Bush at the White House. He acknowledged that the disabled community “is getting a little bit impatient because the wheels of Congress are not moving fast enough." Although the Bush administration and congressional leaders support the hill, some have begun questioning the administration's commitment in recent weeks. White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater denied its support was slipping and said the administration was negotiating with key members of Congress “We do support the legislation," Mr. Fitzwater said. “We're very supportive of their rights and their cause." - ADAPT (542)
collection of articles from TN papers The Tennessean Wednesday, March 14, 1990 National news 104 handicapped protesters arrested WASHINGTON (AP) — Police arrested disabled demonstrators who chanted slogans and chained their wheelchairs together in the Capitol yesterday in a protest demanding quick passage of a bill guaranteeing their civil rights. Police said 104 people were arrested. The Knoxville News-Sentinel Wednesday, March 14. 1990 75 arrested as disabled seek rights 2nd day of protests urges passage of bill By Associated Press WASHINGTON -— Police arrested disabled demonstrators who chanted slogans and chained their wheelchairs together in the Capitol on Tuesday in a protest demanding quick passage of a bill guaranteeing their civil rights. The arrests came after deliberate acts of civil disobedience by the demonstrators and a confrontation in the Capitol's cavernous Rotunda with House Speaker Thomas S. Foley and Minority Leader Robert H. Michel. Some 75 protesters were arrested, many of them in their wheelchairs. Removing them and loading them into vans took about two hours. Those arrested were charged with two misdemeanors, unlawful entry and demonstrating within the Capitol, police said. Both carry maximum sentences of six months in jail. In addition, those convicted could be fined $100 for unlawful entry and $500 for demonstrating in the Capitol. The arrests marked the second day of dramatic lobbying by people with disabilities, who are seeking passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. On Monday, some 60 people crawled out of their wheelchairs and up the West steps of the Capitol. The bill would outlaw discrimination based on physical or mental disability in employment, access to buildings, use of the telephone system, use of public and private transportation and in other uses. It would require ramps or other means of access in all new buildings used by the general public, including private businesses and offices. The Senate passed the bill last year but the measure has bogged down in the House despite widespread predictions of ultimate approval. While the demonstration was in progress. the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the bill 40-3 at a meeting in another building. The measure still must go to two other committees before reaching the full House. Before the arrests, Foley assured demonstrators that he and other congressional leaders were pushing the bill. His words were met with skepticism. Nashville Banner, Wednesday March 14 1990 Scores of protesters arrested in push for disability rights Associated Press WASHINGTON — A House committee took this year‘s first significant action on a major civil rights bill for disabled Americans on the same day that scores of protesters demanding its immediate enactment were arrested and carted off in their wheelchairs. "It is a priority for passage in this session of the Congress." House Speaker Thomas S. Foley. D-Wash., told unpacified demonstrators Tuesday. The Energy and Commerce Committee, meantime, approved the Americans With Disabilities Act by a 40-3 vote after amending it to soften the impact on Amtrak and make other minor changes. Police arrested 104 people many of whom had chained their wheelchairs together, after deliberate acts of civil disobedience following a confrontation in the Capitol Rotunda with Foley and House Minority Leader Robert H. Michel. (Diane Coleman of Nashville, who uses a wheelchair because of a degenerative muscle condition, was one of four Tennesseans arrested. She said the demonstrators, whose chants including “Access is a civil right" could be heard throughout the Capitol, were charged with misdemeanors for demonstrating within a U.S. Capitol building and refusing to obey police orders to leave.) Foley tried to assure the demonstrators on Tuesday that the bill eventually will become law. "Will it be on the (House) floor in 24 hours? No " - ADAPT (261)
The Cincinnati Post Thursday May 22, 1986 1B [This article continues in ADAPT 251, but the entire text is included here for easier reading.] PHOTO by Patrick Reddy/The Cincinnati Post: A lone man in a wheelchair (Glenn Horton) sits in front of a metal police barricade. He wears his pale ADAPT T-shirt with the ADAPT no steps logo imprinted in black on the front. He looks casual but determined, with one foot resting higher on his chair than the other, and his hands folded in his lap. Behind him is cavernous black, some kind of entrance. And around him stand four police officers dressed in dark colors, with light colored hats with eye shades. Each officer is looking determinedly in a different direction. Caption reads: Four police officers look on as Glenn Horton of El Paso, Texas, waits for a van to take him to the Hamilton County Jail after he was arrested at a protest at the Westin Hotel. Horton was among 17 disabled protesters arrested Wednesday. Title: Protesters ready for long jail stay Post staff report Comparing Cincinnati to Selma, Ala., in the 1960s, 11 members of a handicapped activist group are vowing to stay in jail to end alleged discrimination against the handicapped. Of 17 disabled protesters arrested Wednesday, 14 were charged with disorderly conduct for blocking the Westin Hotel entrance. Three were charged with criminal trespassing after chaining themselves to the front doors of Queen City Metro’s offices at 6 E. Fourth St., downtown. Scheduled court dates ranged from May 28 through June 2, so some of the protesters could be in jail for as long as 12 days. Demonstrating against lack of access to Queen City Metro buses, members of Americans Disabled tor Accessible Public Transportation have timed protests this week to coincide with an American Public Transit Association conference at the Westin. The five-day conference ended Wednesday night. “This (Cincinnati) is the Selma, Ala., of the disabled civil rights movement,” said the Rev. Wade Blank of Denver, a founder of ADAPT. “People from all over the country have been calling to say they are willing to get arrested. This has not happened in many cities.” Access Service, Queen City's alternative transit system for the elderly and handicapped, is inadequate and overloaded, ADAPT members say. “We are committed and the people who got involved in this knew it would be more than an overnight stay in jail," said Stephanie Thomas, an ADAPT organizer. “We will not post bond for them." The 11 jailed ADAPT members have been separated from the rest of the prison population and have a full-time employee watching over them at the Hamilton County Justice Center, said Victor Carrelli, Hamilton County chief deputy sheriff. Hamilton County Municipal Judge David Albanese held a special two-hour hearing Wednesday for the 17 under judicial orders covering mass arrests or civil disobedience cases. Those charged with crimi nal trespassing were Michael W. Auberger, 32, of Denver, Colo.; George Cooper Jr., 58, of Irving, Texas, and Robert Kafka, 40, of Austin, Texas. Albanese set bond for the three, who pleaded not guilty, at $3000 cash and "banned them from the city if they chose to post bond. They did not. Kelli Bates, 21, of Denver, the only woman arrested, was the only ADAPT member to plead no contest to a disorderly conduct charge against her. Albanese found her guilty and sentenced her to 30 days in jail if she has not left the city by Friday or enters the city before Friday. Lonnie Smith, 30, of Denver, charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct, pleaded not guilty. Albanese set a $2500 10-percent bond for the resisting charge and a $1500 10-percent bond for the disorderly conduct charge. Those pleading not guilty to charges of disorderly conduct and placed on a $1500 10 percent cash bond were Ernest Taylor, 31, of Hartford, Conn.; William Bolte, 54, of’ Los Angeles; Glenn Horton, 46, of El Paso, Texas; Joseph Carl, 47, of Denver, and James Parker, 40, of E1 Paso. Those pleading not guilty to charges of disorderly conduct and given higher bonds because of prior records were Robert Conrad, 32, of Denver, on a $2000 10-percent cash bond and George Roberts, 37, of Denver on a $3000 10-percent cash bond. Those pleading not guilty to charges of disorderly conduct and released on a $1500 unsecured bond because of medical problems were Arthur Campbell, 39," of Louisville; Kenneth Heart, 36, of Denver; Efrain Lozazno, 35, of El Paso; George Florom, 43, of Colorado Springs, Col; and Rick James, 36, of Salt Lake City. In all cases where bond could be posted, Albanese warned the people not to return to Cincinnati except for court appearances or meetings with their attorneys. Prosecutor Charles A. Rubenstein in many of the cases protested Albanese’s decision to allow the prisoners to be released on bonds. “There is a great likelihood if they are released on bond they would create "further problems and turn this court into a revolving door,” he said. However, James Nicholas of the public defenders office, who was appointed to aid the group's privately hired legal counsel, said "the group would cause no further problems. “The reason that they came, here is finished. They have no reason to remain." After the hearings were finished, Nicholas said most members of the group had vowed to remain in jail. - ADAPT (88)
Rocky Mountain News 7/6/78 [This story continues in ADAPT 91 but the entire text is included here for easier reading.] NEWS Photo by Dick Davis: A city bus is parked at an angle to the street across 2 or 3 lanes. In front, a small woman in a power chair and dark sunglasses, sits holding a very large sign that reads "Taxation without Transportation" and has a wheelchair symbol of access. Two other people in wheelchairs are backed up to the side of the bus and a small group of other people in wheelchairs are in the street by the blockers. Mel Conrardy is in the wheelchair closest to the camera. Caption reads: A group of handicapped persons "seized" two RTD buses Wednesday, protesting what they called the firm's insensitivity to handicapped. [Headline] Buses seized, police decline to make arrests [Subheading] DISABLED SNARL TRAFFIC IN PROTEST By GARY DELSOHN News Staff Protesting what they said was the Regional Transportation District's insensitivity to Denver's handicapped, about 25 disabled persons "seized" two buses during Wednesday morning's downtown rush hour, snarling traffic and daring police to make arrests. While supporters helped them board two eastbound buses on Colfax Avenue at Broadway, several persons in wheelchairs surrounded the crowded vehicles. Early morning commuters had to walk two blocks to catch other buses while RTD drivers radioed their headquarters for assistance. Shortly after the 8:30 takeover, police arrived, admitting they weren't sure what to do. As commanders came to assist, police decided not to arrest any handicapped protesters because, as one sergeant said, “We don't want to be the fall guys on this.“ Police said they didn't want to risk injuring any of the severely disabled persons by loading them into police vans, nor did they wish to be pictured in television newscasts or newspapers arresting persons in wheelchairs. TWO PERSONS WERE arrested for refusing to obey police orders, but they were local counselors - not in wheelchairs - who work with many of Denver's approximately 8,000 handicapped. John Simpson, RTD executive director, arrived at the scene about 10 a.m. and talked with the demonstrators, asking them to leave the street and explain their grievances away from traffic. The protesters refused to move, saying Simpson and RTD have been meeting with the handicapped for years and done little to solve their transportation problems. "Handicapped people have a right to ride the bus just like everyone else," said Lin Chism, a disabled University of Colorado at Denver student studying rehabilitation counseling. “Today is the first of many times we will have to do this to get RTD to come to some agreement with us.“ Calling themselves the Colorado Coalition of Disabled Citizens, the protesters, organized and led by Denver's privately owned Atlantis Community for the handicapped, said the demonstration was a response to last week's federal court ruling that RTD was not violating the constitutional rights of the city's handicapped by not providing them access to RTD buses. ATLANTIS AND OTHER groups representing the handicapped and elderly last year sued RTD to require installation on all new buses of devices providing access to persons in wheelchairs. Wade Blank, director of Atlantis, which helps handicapped persons adjust to non-institutional life, said demonstrators hoped to get the attention of U.S. District Court Judge Richard P. Matsch, who made last week's ruling, and "others in the judicial system so they know what we‘re up against. “Like Martin Luther King. we have tried to go through the system," Blank said. "Now, like Dr. King, we must practice civil disobedience until the judges change their minds or Congress makes new laws." A clerk for Judge Matsch said, “The judge does not respond to reporters‘ questions and makes no comment on a ruling he has made." Blank said Atlantis lawyers will appeal Matsch's decision. He said the group also plans additional disruptive protests. “These people have no place else to go," he said, adding that they would not even be able to attend meetings on the subject proposed by Simpson because they could not find transportation. Simpson, talking with protesters, police and reporters throughout the morning, said RTD is trying to help disabled persons get around town and is one of the most progressive agencies in the nation in that area. RTD HAS I2 BUSES equipped with hydraulic lifts and locking safety clamps for persons in wheelchairs. Simpson said. Transporting several hundred persons to and from work and school daily, the "special service", buses appear to be the best way to move handicapped persons, he said. Equipping other buses with elevator lifts wouldn't be feasible, according to Simpson, because many handicapped persons can't get to bus stops located throughout town. Simpson pleaded with the demonstrators to move and let the two stalled buses continue down Colfax Avenue, even ordering one of the special buses into the area to handle the crowd. He also took reporters through the bus, demonstrating its features. But the protesters refused to move, saying their problem wasn't one of immediate transportation but rather a long-term dilemma exacerbated by the fact that only nine of the 12 special buses are in use. The other three, they said, are in storage at RTD garages. Simpson said RTD will have another 28 buses designed to carry handicapped persons in operation by September but their use has been delayed by mechanical problems. POLICE COMMANDERS repeatedly tried to mediate an immediate solution to the the traffic jam created by the protesters, but demonstrators said they would not leave unless Simpson gave them a written promise that all RTD buses would be made accessible to the handicapped. Simpson, declining this offer, said he would meet "with anyone, any time" on the issue. "We have been sensitive," Simpson said. "But some of these problems Congress will have to address." Demonstrators also expressed concern that the waiting list to get on the special buses is 1,000 persons long and the only alternative for persons without friends or relatives to drive them around is a private cab service that charges about $16 per round trip. Many city and state officials were on the scene, watching and talking to police and demonstrators. Mary Krane, a supervisor in the city's social services department, said she quit RTD advisory committee on the handicapped and elderly last year in frustration. "I resigned because it was so hard to get anything done, " she said. "We messed around with a few things but nothing really happened. No one has been willing to make the capital investment necessary to make buses accessible to the handicapped." JEROME SPRIGS, A member of the Governor's Council on the Handicapped, said disabled persons "know they're getting the run-around from the RTD because many of these special buses are being used in rural areas." Lisa Wheeler, 20, an Atlantis counselor, and Bill Roem, who runs a Lakewood home for the physically handicapped, were arrested about 11 am after they ignored a police order to leave the street. "Police are doing their jobs, " Roem said from inside a squad car. "But there has to be some awareness of the problem." Ms. Wheeler and Roem were book at police headquarters and released on $100 bond. Police blocked traffic on Colfax Avenue from Delaware on the west to Lincoln on the east. Traffic during the evening rush hour didn't seem to move any slower than usual, as protesters said they probably would continue their vigil throughout the night. - ADAPT (553)
June 12, 1990 - Guardian. 5 Disabled 'ecstatic' as rights act clears House By DIANE COLEMAN The Americans with Disabilities Act, considered by many to be the most sweeping civil rights legislation since the 1964 Civil Rights Act, easily cleared the House of Representatives May 22. It is expected to reach the president‘s desk by July 4. The act prohibits discrimination based on disability in public accommodations, employment, transportation and telecommunications. It is intended to address "rampant, daily discrimination in every sphere of American life,“ Rep. Pat Schroeder, D-Colo., told her colleagues on the House floor. “Mentally retarded persons are kept out of restaurants. Persons with cerebral palsy are turned away from theaters. . . . Employers cite fears of hiring disabled persons because their customers will feel uncomfortable or even repulsed,” Schroeder added. Despite strong opposition from private business and transportation lobbies, chief among them the National Federation of Independent Businesses and Greyhound Lines, Inc. , the Americans With Disabilities Act achieved bipartisan support in both houses of Congress. The House vote was 403-29. Under pressure from the NFIB and the National Restaurant Association, the House version of the bill was amended at the last minute to allow employers to remove people with HIV infection from food handling positions. Sponsored by Rep. Jim Chapman, the amendment passed narrowly, although the Texas Democrat conceded there is no “evidence that‘AIDS can be transferred in the process of handling food.” Tom Sheridan of AIDS Action, representing 500 community-based service organizations, predicted that the Chapman amendment would go down to defeat in the House-Senate conference committee. “It’s a horrible amendment for all people with disabilities because . . . it begins to codify the fact that irrational fear is protected by the law,” he said. Nonetheless at press time Senate conferees had agreed to include the restrictions. “Cheers and tears” filled the House gallery at the moment of the ADA's long-awaited passage, according to Tennessee disabled activist Michael Gibson, “but we all know that the bill is only a first step. Several agencies will be writing key regulations which offer innumerable opportunities to weaken the effect of this legislation,” Gibson said. SOME DELAYS, FEW LOSSES While many activists feared the House would water down the Senate version of the bill, Marilyn Golden of the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund said that the ADA “has not been weakened anywhere near the extent that much legislation is. " According to Golden, who has worked intensively for the bill's passage over the last two years, various timetables and phase-in provisions were adopted to avoid other forms of compromise. The ADA’s protections against employment discrimination, which parallel those applied to federally funded entities since 1973, do not go into effect for two years. Prohibitions against discrimination in public accommodations, such as theaters and restaurants, will require accessibility in facilities “construct[ed] . . . for first occupancy no later than 30 months after the date of enactment." Telephone companies will have three years to put in place a relay service for deaf people and others who depend on non-voice telecommunication. A requirement that all new public buses be lift-equipped will take effect in only 30 days. Many attribute this to seven years of non-violent civil disobedience by the American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit. Greyhound, a private carrier, was given six years to begin replacing its retired buses with accessible ones. Activists also waged a last-minute battle over employment discrimination remedies. Recently proposed legislation would add damages to the relief available to discrimination victims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In the face of this, Golden said. the Bush administration tried “to renege on its agreement for parallelism” between the ADA and the 1964 act. It backed an amendment that would have kept remedies for disability-based discrimination at current levels if and when discrimination remedies are increased for other minority groups and women. The amendment was narrowly defeated just prior to the final vote on the bill itself. Overall, Golden said. “We're ecstatic." The ADA “will hopefully begin to convey to the American public. left, center and right (because in some ways I don't think the consciousness of the left is any better), that disability is not a personal issue, that there’s a systematic oppression of people with disabilities. . . . Even Congress has faced the fact of the systematic discrimination. " PHOTO (by Tom Olin): A closer view of a mass of marchers coming around a huge tree on a broad sidewalk leading up to the Capitol. Stephanie Thomas, Frank Lozano, Jennifer Keelan and others lead the march which is 12 across in some places and scattered in others. The ADAPT flag (an American Flag with the stars arranged in the wheelchair symbol instead of in rows) flies over the crowd from a few rows back. Some people are in suits and ties, some in T-shirts. Some are in wheelchairs, some carry cameras; children to older folks are in the mix. Caption reads: Seven years of nonviolent civil disobedience by the American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit has been credited for the requirement that all new buses be lift-equipped. Above, ADAPT march on U.S. Capitol.