DISABLED PROTEST AND ARE ARRESTED
By STEVEN A. HOLMES, Special to The New York Times
Published: March 14, 1990
WASHINGTON, March 13— More than 100 protesters in wheelchairs were arrested
today in the Capitol Rotunda after they boisterously demonstrated for swift
passage of a civil rights bill for the millions of Americans with physical and
mental disabilities.
''We're taking the strategies of the 60's that helped get rights for black and
brown people and women, and using them for people with disabilities,'' said
Wade Blank of Denver, one of the leaders of the protest.
The protesters, who had intended to be arrested, were part of a group of about
150 that met with House Speaker Thomas S. Foley and other Congressional leaders
at the Rotunda to demand quick action on the Americans With Disabilities Act.
The measure would require that all new buildings and services that serve the
general public accommodate the disabled. When Mr. Foley declined to promise
a specific date for passage, some in the group began to boo.
Arrests Take Two Hours
After the legislators departed, the group gathered in a tight circle and began
chanting, ''Access is a civil right!'' and ''The people united will never
be defeated!''
Demonstrating in the Capitol is against Federal law. Members of the Capitol
police force, many dressed in riot gear, cleared the Rotunda of tourists,
surrounded
the protesters and used large chain-cutters and acetylene torches to break the
links that bound several of the protesters' wheelchairs together. The police
then wheeled them out. The process took about two hours.
Officer Greg Nevitt, a police spokesman, said 104 people had been arrested and
would be charged with demonstrating in a Capitol building and unlawful entry.
Mr. Blank is one of the founders of Americans Disabled for Accessible Public
Transit, or ADAPT, a group that represents the militant wing of the
disabled-rights
movement. In the past, it has staged disruptive acts to publicize the plight of
the disabled. In September, the group organized a demonstration in Atlanta
where 25 people were arrested for blocking more than a dozen
Greyhound-Trailways buses to protest the company's refusal to install
wheelchair lifts.
Heading Toward House Floor
The Americans With Disabilities Act, which would extend to the disabled the
same protections against bias that are provided for women and members of
minority
groups, has recently hit a snag in the Bush Administration's reluctance to go
along with tough penalties that could be imposed against companies that failed
to comply.
But it has already passed the Senate and cleared another hurdle today when the
House Committee on Energy and Commerce approved it by a vote of 40 to 3.
Two other House panels, the Committee on Public Works and Transportation and
the Judiciary Committee, still must vote on the measure. House leaders say
the bill will probably reach the House floor by mid-April.
Source:
http://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/14/us/disabled-protest-and-are-arrested.html
