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 "
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- Created on
- Friday 12 July 2013
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- Monday 29 June 2015
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- ADA, arrest, chains, civil disobedience, crawl, Diane Coleman, House Minority Leader Bob Michel, House Speaker Tom Foley, people with disabilities, Rotunda, US Capitol, wheelchairs
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