What is the nature of a disability?
What about an art gallery? Should they provide an interpreter? Who pays?
What about a greeting card store, should they?
As blind people, to what extent should we expect to have "sight interpreters"
provided for us?
Personal shoppers, are they obligated to read every line? Do we have the right
to take up an entire day with having them read every line?
I've tossed that in as a "close to home".
Would we expect a tour bus to provide a sight interpreter for all of the
leaves, ducks, green hills? Now, would we expect a busness that is charging us
$49 for a bus ride, to provide 2 sight interpreters so we won't miss a thing?
How much is the movie, and we are talking, on one shot of a cost to them of
$120 an hour.
These are valid questions to me, as I run a business.
If I was asked for someone to read the print instructions, beyond my ability to
demonstrate a product, I'd lose that sale. I'm blind. Should I provide a sight
interpreter, or is that only for sighted businesses?
Would we expect a worker at Loes to describe everything a sighted person could
choose to view in their "decorative floor tile" department for us?
What if his disability was height?
What if the entertainment was a motorcycle race?
Would we expect some sort of "leg assistance" mechanical oor otherwise to
assist him?
Okay, I'm not a muscle man, and I'm blind. I want to be a cowboy, and I want to
go to a camp for "cowboying" for the weekend.
I can't see to rope a steer, and would be dragged around by any 200 lb animal?
What provisions might I rant and demand to accommodate my weakness of sight and
musccleture?
Do I get a personal "coyboy stunt double" to feed me the experience?
I'm not taking a sarcastic stand, but wonder how much is appropriate to what is
paid.
Many gun ranges will not allow blind shooters. I can hold a rifle as good as
any other, or as good as any rifle stand, but I want to hit the target, and
it's not fair.
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-philly-comp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-philly-comp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Jan Lattuca
Sent: Thursday, June 04, 2015 3:04 PM
To: blind-philly-comp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-philly-comp] Re: Something I felt could be of interest
Kirk, I was struggling with this until I read your clearly and strongly worded
thoughts. You are absolutely right, of course.
Thanks.
Jan
On 6/2/15, Kurt Miller <millerbkjm@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Here's my thoughts on the subject:
Yes it would cost the establishment some money but does this man not
have the right to have entertainment in his life because he can't see
or hear. I think that it is a fine line in the wording of the ADA but
if you own a business then you should be willing and able to have
anyone come in off the street and enjoy whatever it is you are
offering and that is a moral issue, there should not have to be a law
to tell people these things. You are providing a service to the public
and he is the public isn't he? I would like to know exactly what this
establishment considers this man (besides a burden). If there needs to
be accommodations for the blind and also for the deaf, then why not the
deaf-blind.
Kurt
From: blind-philly-comp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-philly-comp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Christina
Stolze
Sent: Tuesday, June 2, 2015 4:52 PM
To: blind-philly-comp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-philly-comp] Re: Something I felt could be of interest
I'm not really sure what is really meant. If someone can make heads or
tails out of the article I would be curious to hear everyone and
anyone's thoughts and or opinions.
Christina
From: blind-philly-comp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-philly-comp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of David
Goldfield
Sent: Tuesday, June 02, 2015 3:34 PM
To: blind-philly-comp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-philly-comp] Re: Something I felt could be of interest
Wait, am I understanding this correctly that this individual feels the
movie theater should provide an actual sign language interpreter for
him to attend a movie? If this is correct, are movie theaters
obligated to provide a blind moviegoier with someone to describe the
movie if an audio description track is not available?
Please read about the petition to allow Sister Diana Momenka, a
persecuted Iraqi Christian, to visit the United States
http://bit.ly/1IYJjMu Feel free to visit my Web site
http://www.davidgoldfield.info
David Goldfield,
Assistive Technology Specialist
On 6/2/2015 3:13 PM, Christina Stolze wrote:
This is taken from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; actual link is at the end.
I'm thinking it might be worth keeping on our radar:
Despite the increasing availability of technology allowing people who
are deaf and blind to enjoy movies, a recent lawsuit filed in
Pittsburgh highlights still more gaps in access.
Richard McGann, a Brookline man who is deaf and blind, filed a
complaint in U.S. District Court in late March, claiming that Cinemark
USA violated his rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
According to the complaint, Cinemark refused to provide Mr. McGann
with an ASL tactile interpreter in December when he requested one to
attend "Gone Girl" at the Cinemark theater in Robinson.
Mr. McGann uses American Sign Language as his primary mode of
communication. For receptive communication, Mr. McGann lightly touches
the hands of a tactile interpreter to read the ASL signs.
"I have 10 ears and eyes on my fingertips," Mr. McGann said in a 2008
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article. He declined to be interviewed about
this lawsuit.
The complaint said Mr. McGann attended movie theaters with his wife
before her death in 2001, and she provided the necessary
interpretation. After Cinemark refused his request, the complaint said
Mr. McGann attended "Night at the Museum" with his sister at a Carmike
theater that provided the necessary accommodation.
Cinemark did not respond to a request to comment on the case.
The complaint is filed as a violation of Title III of the ADA, which
requires public places, including movie theaters, to provide auxiliary
aids and services "unless the public accommodation can demonstrate
that taking those steps would fundamentally alter the nature of the
goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations
being offered, or would result in an undue burden, i.e., significant
difficulty or expense."
Cinemark's answer to the complaint, filed May 5, states that Mr.
McGann has not "suffered any injury in fact or damage whatsoever," and
that the request for Cinemark to provide two tactile interpreters for
Mr. McGann is "unduly burdensome."
Mary Crossley, a University of Pittsburgh law professor, said the
undue burden question looks at how much an auxiliary aid or service
would cost in light of what resources the business of public accommodation
has.
"It's pretty clear that the undue burden clause can take in any
relationship with a parent company," Ms. Crossley said, referring to
the resources the larger corporation might have.
Carol Horowitz, Mr. McGann's attorney, said there are three main
providers of interpreting services in Pittsburgh: the Center for
Hearing & Deaf Services, Steel City Interpreters and Sign Language
Interpreting Professionals.
The Center for Hearing & Deaf Services, for example, charges $60 per
hour per interpreter, with a two-hour minimum. They said tactile
interpreting for a movie requires two interpreters, as Mr. McGann requested.
The lawsuit comes at a time when proposed federal regulation for movie
theaters that would broaden services for people with disabilities is
slated to be finalized in September. The Department of Justice is
moving to require movie theaters to provide both closed captioning and
audio description services at most digital movie screenings. The
Cinemark in Robinson that Mr. McGann wanted to attend already lists
these services on its website as available for movie-goers at certain movies.
The National Organization of Theater Owners, which represents 660
companies, estimates between 60 percent and 80 percent of screens
already had this technology in place as of spring 2014.
This technology relies on either sight or hearing, depending on the
needs of the person. However, it does not meet the needs of a person
who is deaf-blind. It is not known how many theaters provide the type
of accommodation that Mr. McGann requires.
The ADA allows public places to make the final decision on what type
of auxiliary aids and services they provide, so long as the chosen
method provides "effective communication." For example, a person who
is deaf may prefer an ASL interpreter to be on site, but the public
accommodation might only provide a captioning service.
There are devices available that translate typed messages to Braille,
and even technology that allow those who are deaf-blind to use the telephone.
None of this technology, however, appears to have been modified to
provide access to movies.
Ms. Horowitz said this was the first time the Disability Rights
Network of Pennsylvania had dealt with a case like Mr. McGann's, and
she did not know of any other cases in the U.S. about access to movie
theaters for people who are deaf-blind.
The issue likely has not received a lot of attention because of the
small size of the population who are deaf-blind, she said.
The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners estimated
there were between 70,000 and 100,000 people who were deaf-blind
living in the United States in 2008. The National Center on
Deaf-Blindness reported
9,454 children and youth on its 2013 National Deaf-Blind Child Count.
http://www.post-gazette.com/ae/movies/2015/06/02/Deaf-and-blind-Brookl
ine-ma n-sues-Cinemark/stories/201505220108?utm_campaign=echobox
<http://www.post-gazette.com/ae/movies/2015/06/02/Deaf-and-blind-Brook
line-m
an-sues-Cinemark/stories/201505220108?utm_campaign=echobox&utm_medium=
social &utm_source=Facebook> &utm_medium=social&utm_source=Facebook
"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing".
Helen Keller
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