The Alabama Disabilities Action Coalition is a non-partisan coalition of individuals with disabilities and organizations representing them. ADAC was founded in the early 1990's as a local Birmingham group organized to conduct candidates' forums to inform local and state officeholders about issues and needs of individuals with disabilities. ADAC seeks to build a broad based statewide coalition of all people with disabilities in order to bring about positive changes in attitude among people without disabilities.
The Alabamians with Disabilities Act will safeguard the rights and opportunities of citizens who happen to have disabilities- the right to vote, the right to use public buildings and accommodations, the opportunity to work and be productive, the opportunity to work and be productive, the opportunity to have a home and be included in their communities.
There are more than 945,000 people with disabilities who make their homes in Alabama. They are our parents, our siblings, our neighbors, our friends or ourselves. In fact, disability can happen to any of us in the wink of an eye.
People with disabilities and their families face many unequal barriers to participation in the everyday lives of our communities. For example:
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), passed by Congress in 1990, has helped to remove many barriers and improve the lives of people with disabilities and their families.
The ADA has proven to be good public policy. Nearly nine out of ten adults who are aware of the ADA support and approve of it. Three-quarters think the benefits to people with disabilities are worth additional costs to governments and businesses.
Recently, the national ADA has been increasingly challenged in the federal courts-not necessarily because of opposition to the civil rights guaranteed under the Act, but on the legal theory that the US Congress does not have constitutional authority to impose certain requirements on the states.
It is still possible- and right- for Alabama to affirm its support for the civil rights of our citizens with disabilities by passing this important legislation. Our ADA - that’s the Alabamians with Disabilities Act - will provide similar protections for Alabama citizens with disabilities as a matter of state, and not just federal law.
ADAC supports the Alabamians with Disabilities Act when it comes up in the next general session.
ADAC encourages members to write key committee members on the designated House and Senate Committees who will vote on this bill and urge them to support the Alabamians with Disabilities Act.
ADAC wants to ensure that the civil rights of people with disabilities are fostered and protected through state disability rights legislation. ADAC also wants to work with the business community to educate them on the advantages of having state disability rights protection.
Disability is a civil rights issue on par with the civil rights of other protected classes. Alabama’s approximately 945,000 individuals with disabilities deserve no less. Equal access for all makes society stronger for everyone. Elimination of barriers will help to make people with disabilities more independent and greater contributors to society. ADAC does not support damages against businesses that have made good faith efforts to provide access.