Re: "Frequent Filers" series:

 

It is interesting that The Bee considers multiple ADA suits newsworthy enough for a three-day series. Successful suits or not, the violations exist. After 16 years, we still can't eat out, shop, or go to the movies without facing barriers. As a person who uses a wheelchair, I have personally been unable to:

 

·    Access the ramp to upper-level restaurant seating because stacked high chairs blocked my way.

·    Buy clothing because the only wheelchair accessible dressing room became a broom closet.

·    Shop in a department store because there was no elevator service.

·    Eat comfortably with my family because there was no ramp to family seating in a restaurant.

 

I complained to the owners and vowed never to give them my business again - which changed nothing. The loss of a few dinner tabs or clothing purchases don't force change.

 

People file false claims against insurance companies every day but are are not held up for rebuke on the front page. Yet, demand that a 16-year-old civil rights law be legally enforced, and become the villain. If these violations were signs that read "whites only", who would be the villains: civil rights attorneys or business owners?

 

Merle Levy
Sacramento

Click here to read more about the "Price of Access" series.