[tabi] Re: OCT 10 Guide Dog Protest
- From: "Tinetta Cooper" <tanetjec@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 8 Oct 2014 20:34:49 -0400
I'm sure many of us know Tiffany by the last name Wilson. Now she is going
by Tiffany Baylor. I will be at the demonstration on Friday and hope many of
you will join us!
From: tabi-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:tabi-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Sila Miller
Sent: Wednesday, October 08, 2014 8:11 PM
To: Johnnie Slaton
Cc: tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [tabi] Re: OCT 10 Guide Dog Protest
Hello everyone,
Further information is below. Also, my sincere apologies to Tiffany for
mistaking her last name.
Sila
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Marion Gwizdala, President
National Association of Guide dog Users
National Federation of the Blind
813-626-2789
President@xxxxxxxxx
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND PROTESTS DISCRIMINATION BY STATE SECURITY
CONTRACTOR
Tallahassee, Fla. (October 7, 2014): On Friday, October 10, from 2:00 - 4:00
p.m., members of the National Federation of the Blind will gather outside
the Museum of Florida History, located at 500 S. Bronough Street in
Tallahassee, to protest an attempt to forcibly remove a blind woman who uses
a guide dog from the museum. The incident occurred when Tiffany Baylor, a
blind woman who uses a guide dog, visited the museum on the first day of
Meet the Blind Month, a nationally recognized campaign of the National
Federation of the Blind. Governor Rick Scott has also proclaimed October as
Disability Awareness Month. Ms. Baylor was visiting the museum to view a
special tactile quilt that was on display at the museum. One security
officer grabbed the dog's harness, asserting he needed more proof than her
credible assurance, in spite of the fact that the harness was clearly
marked with the words "Guide Dogs for the Blind". When Ms. Baylor attempted
to educate the officers about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and
Florida law regarding service animals, the officers asserted that those laws
did not apply in state buildings.
"We are here to demand that criminal charges be brought against the
offending officers as set forth in Florida law," said Marion Gwizdala,
president of the National Association of Guide Dog Users (NAGDU), the
National Federation of the Blind's special interest group for guide dog
users. "We also demand that they be appropriately disciplined by their
employer, that clear written policies be created, and that all state staff
and contract personnel receive training on these policies and the laws
concerning service dogs."
Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act states, "No qualified
individual with a disability shall, by reason of such disability, be
excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services,
programs, or activities of a public entity, or be subjected to
discrimination by any such entity" and allows disabled individuals to be
accompanied by a service dog in any place the general public is allowed.
Florida statute makes it a second degree misdemeanor to interfere with the
rights of a disabled individual or to obstruct, intimidate, or otherwise
jeopardize the safety of a service animal or its user. The implementing
regulations of the ADA and the pertinent sections of Florida statute are
available upon request.
# # #
About the National Federation of the Blind
The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.
About the National Association of Guide Dog Users
The National Association of Guide dog Users is the nation's leading
organization for blind people who use guide dogs. NAGDU is a strong and
proud division of the National Federation of the Blind. NAGDU conducts
public awareness campaigns on issues of guide dog use, provides advocacy
support for guide dog handlers who face discrimination, supports sound
policy and effective legislation to protect the rights of guide dog users,
offers educational programs to school and civic organizations, and functions
as an integral part of the National Federation of the Blind. For more
information about the National Association of Guide Dog Users and to support
our work, you can visit our website at <http://www.nagdu.org/>
HTTP://WWW.NAGDU.ORG or send an email message to <mailto:Info@xxxxxxxxx>
Info@xxxxxxxxx.
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