It Was 20 Years Ago Today – Bush Signed The ADA
By Terry Miller
Published: Friday, July 30th, 2010
The Americans with Disabilities Act -
It Was Twenty Years ago Today
Leon San Blas, in wheelchair, is one of many people not exactly thrilled with the new yellow bumps on the corners of streets
By Terry Miller
It was actually twenty years ago Monday that life for Americans with disabilities got a little easier with the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The signing of the act accommodates people with all sorts of disabilities. The act signed by George Bush senior on July 26, 1990 changed the lives of many Americans with disabilities – But not everyone is happy with all the changes.
Monrovia Developer Leon San Blas has been confined to a wheelchair since 1994. Monrovia businessman San Blas said in a telephone interview Tuesday with the Weekly that the Disabilities Act hasn’t really helped his own personal situation at all, in fact, quite the opposite.
“I have a wheelchair with casters on it and when I go down those yellow bumps ( the newly installed ADA fixtures on many street corners in cities all over California) on street corners, I almost lose my balance and fall out of the chair. I avoid those yellow marked areas at all costs.” Leon San Blas said that his last experience was near Monrovia library when the bumps dislodged him from the chair. He has advised the city of Monrovia that it might just be a matter of time before someone files suit regarding the very thing that is supposed to help those with disabilities. “They scare me” San Blas said of the new yellow corners, I wish they’d go back to the old concrete ramps without any bumps.”
Because it’s broadly drafted it has allowed the disabled to get employment , public accommodations and to get services from the government and its agencies. Congress re-drafted the ADA just last year to make accommodations for electronics making things like computers and phones more accessible for the disabled.
While the ADA turned 20 years old on Monday it is important to note that changes are still necessary and there’s always room for improvement according to Leon San Blas who faces obstacles every day of his life in a wheelchair. The anniversary is a poignant reminder not only that government can work but also that, once upon a time, many Republicans were willing to welcome it. Lobbyists for the business community, including the Chamber of Commerce had predicted that the requirements would cripple employers. However, a large bipartisan majority passed the bill, a Republican president, George H.W. Bush, signed and implemented it.
The critics were not entirely wrong. Some businesses suffered and lawyers profited. But what might happen if the ADA were up for a vote today? Kentucky Senate candidate Rand Paul, a more extreme republican, has come out against the ADA.
In 1990, it passed the Senate 76-8 and passed the House by unanimous voice vote.
No related posts.