The disability issue can be deemed as a hot-topic issue in the contemporary society. On the one hand, it is the duty of the state authorities to facilitate the people in question with adequate conditions for their normal functioning; on the other hand, it is essential to make sure that differently-abled people should not feel being discriminated against. The dilemma, therefore, is very complex and can be traced back to the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). However, the issue is easily traceable in the local regulations as well, including the California Code of Regulations (CCR). Despite the fact that ADA and CCR are supposed to provide the disparaged with equal opportunities, it seems to affect the way, in which people with disabilities are accepted by the society, which means that the present-day policies may need a change.
The Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations (Department of Rehabilitation par. 3) must be listed among the local policies regarding the disabled members of the LA population. The regulation under analysis provides the disabled residents of Los Angeles, in general, and San Francisco, in particular, with an opportunity to access buildings and use public vehicles without experiencing any physical or psychological issues. Particularly the regulation under analysis suggests that the state authorities should provide disabled people with the tools that will make the process of transportation, as well as the access to buildings, possible; particularly, the use of tools such as ramps and bus platforms is considered a must for the public transportation system (“Part 37—Transportation Services for Individuals with Disabilities (ADA)” par. 37.9).
As far as the regulations on a Federal level are concerned, one must bring the aforementioned Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) up (“Information and Technical Assistance on the Americans with Disabilities Act” par. 2). The specified law is supposed to provide the target denizens of the U.S. population with equal opportunities regarding employment, access to the existing facilities, such as public transportation, public accommodations, etc. (“EEOC Fails to Approve Proposal For ADA Amendments Act Regulations” 106).
A more general way of looking at the problem, the given legislation creates the environment, in which disabled people can feel that they have equal opportunities to those that the rest of the local population has. It could be argued, though, that the creation of the above-mentioned environment does not contribute to helping the target demographics.
As Stella Young pointed out, both disabled people and the ones with a standard set of abilities use their bodies to the full capacity (TEDx Talks); therefore, by forcing the disabled to use the facilities in question, one may imply their inferiority to the rest of the people. Indeed, according to ADA, people with disabilities are defined as “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of such individual” (“42 U.S. Code § 12102 – Definition of Disability” par. 1), which may make the specified denizens of the U.S. population feel inferior. Consequently, the wording of the current ADA needs to be corrected to address the subject matter in a politically correct manner, allowing people to look at the problem of disability from a new angle.
Even though the current regulations regarding the rights of the differently-abled were suggested from the best of motives, they still do not seem to comply with the 21st century standards. To be more exact, the current standards need to be shaped so that the policy in question should not affect the social perception of people with physical or mental disabilities. In other words, the modern policy obviously affects the social justice, which calls for its change.
Works Cited
42 U.S. Code § 12102 – Definition of Disability 1990. Web.
Department of Rehabilitation 2015. Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations. Web.
“EEOC Fails to Approve Proposal For ADA Amendments Act Regulations.” Americans with Disabilities Act: A BNA’s Manual 17.12 (2008): 105–112. Web.
Information and Technical Assistance on the Americans with Disabilities Act 2009. Web.
Part 37—Transportation Services for Individuals with Disabilities (ADA) 2009. Web.
TEDx Talks. “Inspiration Porn and the Objectification of Disability: Stella Young at TEDxSydney 2014.” Online video clip. YouTube. 2015. Web.