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LAW: Consequences of kindness
Dec. 3rd, 2003 04:49 am*sigh*
From the newsroom of The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville, Florida, Wednesday, December 3, 2003 .....
LAW: Consequences of kindness
From the "let no good deed go unpunished" department comes a lawsuit that challenged the practice of giving free passes to severely disabled people at the Dollywood tourist attraction in Tennessee.
Tickets to singer Dolly Parton's theme park normally cost $40, but free entry has been given for years to the blind, the deaf and those in wheelchairs. Dollywood says its policy is an act of compassion; besides, the severely disabled deserve a break because "the experience just couldn't be the same for them."
As many as 44,000 people a year have been getting the comp tickets-much to the chagrin of an advocacy group that claims to protect the interests of the disabled.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the group argued in court, if obviously disabled people get in free, so must the less-obviously disabled.
Dollywood responded that it would make everyone pay in the future.
It had little choice. The legal definition of disabled is still evolving, and it already includes people who don't appear disabled.
The theme park's staff lacks the medical and legal expertise to determine who might meet the judicial definition of disabled, nor does the park have the resources to defend itself in court every time it turns someone down.
The ADA was never intended to prohibit discounts for the severely disabled.
It's too bad such a well-intentioned law has been perverted.
(c) Copyright The Florida Times-Union 2003
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From the newsroom of The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville, Florida, Wednesday, December 3, 2003 .....
LAW: Consequences of kindness
From the "let no good deed go unpunished" department comes a lawsuit that challenged the practice of giving free passes to severely disabled people at the Dollywood tourist attraction in Tennessee.
Tickets to singer Dolly Parton's theme park normally cost $40, but free entry has been given for years to the blind, the deaf and those in wheelchairs. Dollywood says its policy is an act of compassion; besides, the severely disabled deserve a break because "the experience just couldn't be the same for them."
As many as 44,000 people a year have been getting the comp tickets-much to the chagrin of an advocacy group that claims to protect the interests of the disabled.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the group argued in court, if obviously disabled people get in free, so must the less-obviously disabled.
Dollywood responded that it would make everyone pay in the future.
It had little choice. The legal definition of disabled is still evolving, and it already includes people who don't appear disabled.
The theme park's staff lacks the medical and legal expertise to determine who might meet the judicial definition of disabled, nor does the park have the resources to defend itself in court every time it turns someone down.
The ADA was never intended to prohibit discounts for the severely disabled.
It's too bad such a well-intentioned law has been perverted.
(c) Copyright The Florida Times-Union 2003
+-------------------------------------------------------+
| Do not forward this news/information. Have your |
| friends subscribe directly to USA-L News. |
| USA-L_News-subscribe@yahoogroups.com |
+-------------------------------------------------------+
| If you wish to reprint this article, you are hereby |
| required to obtain copyright permission from the |
| publisher, not USA-L News. |
| |
| Distributed by USA-L News, a public service of |
| Creative Designers. Copyright 2003. |
| This material may not be published, broadcast, |
| rewritten, or redistributed. |
+-------------------------------------------------------+
| http://groups.yahoo.com/group/USA-L_News |
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Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
