The ACA Works to Advance Protections for People With Disabilities

Amputee Coalition of America

Through much of our country's history and well into the twentieth century, people with disabilities were seen as useless and dependent, hidden and excluded from society, either in their own homes or in institutions. Now, this history of isolation is gradually giving way to inclusion in all aspects of society, and people with disabilities everywhere are living and working in communities alongside family and friends. But this has not been a painless process. People with disabilities often seem “different” to people without disabilities.

People with disabilities may look different or talk differently. They may require the assistance of a wheel-chair, a cane, or other assistive technologies. They may have seizures or have difficulty understanding seemingly simple directions.

These perceived differences evoke a range of emotions in others, from misunderstanding and apprehension to feelings of superiority and hatred. Bias against people with disabilities takes many forms, often resulting in discriminatory actions in employment, housing, and public accommodations.

A British Broadcasting Company (BBC) presenter, Cerrie Burnell, was born with one arm. She was recently the victim of a disturbing campaign after parents complained that she was scaring toddlers. (Click here to read the ACA's response.)

Laws like the Fair Housing Amendments Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act are designed to protect people with disabilities from prejudice.

Perhaps most unfortunately, disability bias can also manifest itself in the form of violence — and it is imperative that a message be sent to our country that these acts of bias-motivated hatred are not acceptable in our society.

The federal government still has very limited authority to investigate and prosecute disability-bias federal crimes. In 1994, Congress enacted a penalty-enhancement law for federal crimes in which the defendant intentionally selects a victim because of “actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability, or sexual orientation of any person” [28 USC 994 Note]. Also in 1994, Congress extended the Hate Crime Statistics Act of 1990, a law requiring the FBI to collect hate crime statistics from state and local law enforcement authorities to include disability-based hate crimes. Still, hate crimes against those with disabilities remain vastly under-reported.

The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crime Prevention Act (LLEHCPA) is expected to be reintroduced this spring. LLEHCPA would grant agencies the authority to investigate and prosecute federal crimes based on the victim's disability, whether real or perceived, and would authorize funding to states to help with the prosecution of hate crimes.

The LLEHCPA would broaden the definition of hate crimes to include disability, sexual orientation, gender and gender identity. It also makes grants available to state and local communities to combat violent crimes committed by juveniles, train law enforcement officers or to assist in state and local investigations and prosecutions of bias-motivated crimes.

Thirty-one states and the District of Columbia have already recognized the importance of this issue and have included people with disabilities as a protected class under their hate crimes statutes. However, protection is neither uniform nor comprehensive, and this has important practical and symbolic results. It is vital for the federal government to send the message that hate crimes committed because of disability bias are as intolerable as those motivated by race, ethnicity, national origin or religion. The crucial resources provided to local law enforcement by LLEHCPA would give meaning and substance to this important message. It is critical that people with disabilities share in the protection of the federal hate crimes statute.

Too frequently, bias-motivated crimes against those with disabilities have gone unreported and unprosecuted. The special problems associated with investigating and prosecuting hate violence against someone with a disability makes the availability of federal resources for state and local authorities all that much more important to ensure that justice prevails.

This legislation is vitally important for the vulnerable population of individuals with disabilities, and must be enacted in order to bring the full protection of the law to those targeted for violent, bias-motivated crimes simply because they have a disability.

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The Amputee Coalition of America (ACA) is involved in many exciting advocacy initiatives at both the state and federal level. To learn more about our Congressional efforts, contact the ACA at federal@amputee-coalition.org or 202/742-1886. For more information about our work to shape policies at the state level, we can be reached at state@amputee-coalition.org or 202/742-1885.