DISABILITIES ACT BECOMES FEDERAL LAW

Americans with disabilities have more civil rights today than they had last week.

On Sunday the Americans with Disabilities Act became a federal law, giving a big boost to an estimated 43 million handicapped Americans.

For governments and their facilities, and businesses with more than 24 employees, ADA bans discrimination against people with disabilities and requires "reasonable accommodations" to enable the handicapped to perform jobs or use services almost everywhere.

Restaurants, hotels, theaters, libraries and private day care centers are just a few of the places that will likely undergo drastic revisions to conform with the act.

Since President Bush signed the legislation last year, proponents and skeptics have debated the act's ramifications. Handicap advocacy groups have said the measure is long overdue and will give people with disabilities an opportunity to enter the mainstream and become productive, taxpaying citizens.

Opponents have been less enthusiastic. Business advocates maintain the act is a guaranteed budget-buster for small firms.

John Davis, Illinois director of the National Federation of Independent Business, said: "The timing couldn't be worse. Here we are in the middle of a recession and we're telling people to go out and build a ramp.

"It is too vague; it does not specify who is disabled," said Davis. "It's like dumping a social problem on small business when small business is the key to wealth in this country."

Harold Kuehle, Cape Girardeau County collector and chairman of the Missouri Governor's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, said: "I think it was unfortunate that we ever had to have a law passed to take care of a common-sense problem. But since the problem wasn't being addressed by different areas of society, a law became necessary."

Although the law prohibits discrimination against the disabled in employment, public accommodations, in telecommunications and in public transportation, Kuehle said the law alone is not enough.

"We can legislate all we want, but unless attitudes are changed we haven't really broken down the barriers," said Kuehle, who is confined to a wheelchair.

The attitude barrier, he said, is evident in much of the discussion about the costs of the law.

"As in all situations when the pendulum swings from one extreme to the other, people become uncomfortable. People get bristled up and attitudes get really negative," said Kuehle.

"But I think there are enough protections built in that a small businessman is not going to go bankrupt."

Kuehle said the law makes provisions that accessibility modifications must be "readily achievable" and must not place an "undue financial burden" on small businesses.

"The law has loopholes in it, and there are going to be people who take advantage of those loopholes," he said. "Some people need to take advantage of them.

"A lot of business people have said they understand economics. If I make my business accessible to people with disabilities, they will come and spend their money.

"There are a lot of folks out there with disabilities," Kuehle said. "They want to spend their money in accessible places. I think this will be a benefit to society as a whole."

Kuehle said laws to make public places accessible are not new. In fact, a law was enacted in 1977, he said.

"The problem is that the law really didn't have any teeth in it, and so it was ignored," he said. "Now we have to legislate something with ramifications."

He said he hopes that business people and people with disabilities will be able to work together.

"I think we will see everybody trying to work things out and to work together," he said.

Kuehle said mediation is preferred over litigation in these matters. "The court system is not a good way to get anything remedied. I think its unfortunate that it had to get to this point."

(Some information for the story was provided by The Associated Press.)