[gps-talkusers] Re: denied access in a Copenhagen restaurant

Mike,

This really pisses me off. To add insult to injury, most Europeans think
Americans are ill mannered cowboys. Maybe we aren't the barbarians they
think we are. Protecting the rights of citizens with disabilities is the
law, and the right thing to do. I wish foreign governments provided us
with the same rights as we enjoy here in the states and other
enlightened countries.


-----Original Message-----
From: gps-talkusers-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:gps-talkusers-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Michael May
Sent: Monday, December 04, 2006 1:26 AM
To: GPS-talkusers-freelists.org
Subject: [gps-talkusers] denied access in a Copenhagen restaurant


The GPS helped get us to Visuvio's restaurant in Copenhagen but the
front door is where the access ended. It is rare for me to run into a
situation where I am absolutely denied access to a restaurant because of
my Seeing Eye dog. It is so frustrating and humiliating when it happens.

The two previous restaurants we went to in the last day objected to the
dog but they didn't protest long. I know every angle in the book and
Visuvio's wasn't budging. We argued in the doorway for 20 minutes or so.
I called a blind Danish guy in the local blindness organization and he
explained that there isn't any specific legislation about dogs. It is
hard to know how general descrimination law applies in Denmark. We did
pass one other dog guide user on the street so it isn't the fact that
there are no dogs here. Anyone know the actual law about dog guides in
Denmark?

I really hate backing down. I was prepared to stand in his doorway the
whole evening but then there was the matter of our business dinner to
consider so eventually we relented and used the GPS to see what other
restaurants were nearby. Wouldn't you know we ended up at an Australian
restaurant. I will definitely make good on filing a complaint about
Visuvio's. I sure hope I don't run into too much more discrimination on
this trip through 5 European countries. It isn't any fun.

Mike
 


Michael G. May

CEO Sendero Group

Developers and distributors of BrailleNote GPS 
Distributing BrailleNote, VoiceNote, Talks, Miniguide, The Tissot
Silen-T tactile watch, and the ID Mate bar code reader 

MikeMay@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.SenderoGroup.com

1-888-757-6810, Fax (530) 757-6830, Mobile (530) 304-0007 
Sendero Group, LLC
1118 Maple Lane, Davis, CA 95616-1723, USA

Latitude, 38 33 9.239 North
Longitude, 121 45 40.145 West

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