3/14/90

Wheelchair-Bound Protesters Arrested

WASHINGTON (AP) -— 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. Police said 104 people were arrested.

Removing the demonstrators and loading them into vans took police about two hours. Those who could walk were handcuffed. and some in wheelchairs were strapped into their seats by police, many of whom wore surgical gloves.

Those arrested were charged with two misdemeanors, unlawful entry and demonstrating within the Capitol, said police spokesman G.T. Nevitt. 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 to underline their demands.

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. But the measure still must go to two other committees before reaching the full House.

Demonstrators gathered in the center of the Rotunda and began to chant slogans, including some from the civil rights movement of the 1960s. They also chanted “ADA Now” and “Access Now," referring to their demand for access to transportation and other accommodations.

“Access is a civil right," the last protester, who identified herself only as Gail Love, shouted as she was taken out.

Police used large snipping tools to break chains that some of the demonstrators had used to bind their wheelchairs together.

Created on

Friday 12 July 2013

Posted on

Friday 3 July 2015

Tags

ADA, arrest, chains, Gail Love, House Minority Leader Bob Michel, House Speaker Tom Foley, Rotunda, US Capitol

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