Civil Disobedience Research Paper

Through researching this topic, I realized that I can practice civil disobedience right now. So instead of talking about how peaceful resistance impacts a free society, I wish to practice civil disobedience and turn your attention to the impact and importance of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“Let the shameful wall of exclusion finally come tumbling down,” President George H. W. Bush declared as he signed the American with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) on a sunny July afternoon. In signing this major piece of legislation a new door opened for the disabled. No longer could discrimination against the disabled reign in the nation. The ADA “prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, transportation, public

Many worked years for the disability rights movement, tirelessly fighting for their rights. The reason for passing this legislation was because a great need existed from the disabled community to be equal. Before this act, disabled children were denied schooling, workers were denied employment and even public transportation was inaccessible. Patricia Schroeder, a representative from DC, said, “What we did for civil rights in the ‘60s, we forgot to do for people with disabilities.” This act finally gave the disabled community what they had been missing all those years: their rights. The main proponents of the legislation were the individuals, families and peers of the disabled. Anyone who felt impacted by disability encouraged and supported this act. However, businesses and even churches were opposed to this act because of the alterations they would be required to make. Since the ADA is an unfunded mandate, public facilities and businesses did not receive money to make changes to their buildings to allow for accessibility. Churches and businesses believed they should not fall under the title of “public facilities” and spend money to reconstruct parts of their buildings. Even today, opponents feel that spending money to alter their buildings is unfair and

The ADA should have come long before 1990, but its existence now ensures that the disabled are protected. While some disabled have benefited economically from the rights ensured in the ADA, an assessment of effectiveness of the ADA hints that employment has not really increased and some facilities are still difficult to access for the disabled. Part of the reason states, businesses and public groups struggle to bring their facilities up to par with federal regulations is the financial burden. Some solutions that could potentially solve the problem would be giving some money to the state governments to alter facilities where accessibility is of the utmost