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The disabled should insure that leaders respect their rights.

© William Robb

When I began writing for Suite 101, I characterized my country as progressive. Now I'm not so sure because the disabled of my country appear to be under attack even though we have a law, ADA, which was supposed to protect our rights. Unfortunately this Act,after ten years,is now under attack as being unconstitutional and in need of amending. The most recent attack is Bill HR.3590.

Why is any Act after a decade of enforcement suddenly unconstitutional and in need of being amended? Will any of these changes help the disabled or will they help someone else at their expense?

My objection to HR 3590 is based upon the following Amendments to our Constitution:

Amendment I:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment XIV:

Section 1.

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

ADA was written to protect the civil rights of the disabled from unconstitutional acts. Isn't HR 3590 therefore just an attempt to return to practices which tend to deny us our constitutional rights under the 1st and 14th Amendments? Congress should therefore refuse to hear a motion for its passage?

It appears that the primary objective of HR 3590 may be amend ADA in such a way so as to make it a useless piece of civil rights legislation.

First by requiring the disabled to notify a violator of ADA that they are in violation.

Secondly,by requiring that they wait 90 days before they could initiate suit? Has Congress ever passed a bill which would require an injured person to wait 90 days before they could initiate suit?

Thirdly, has Congress ever passed a bill which would remove all cases requiring original jurisdiction from federal courts?

Fourthly, has congress ever introduced a bill which would penalize an attorney for manufacturing personal claims injuries? Of Course not fraud is against the law. However under HR.3590, an ADA attorney could be censured if it were determined that their claims are frivolous or without merit.

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