COMMON SENSE ON DISABILITY RIGHTS

The U.S. Supreme Court rendered three salutary rulings last week. In the rights-obsessed language so common in today's culture, here is how the Associated Press reported the story:

"The Supreme Court excluded more than 100 million Americans with physical impairments from the protection of a key anti-discrimination law Tuesday, ruling the law generally doesn't cover people with poor eyesight or other correctable conditions."

Well, of course. Thank goodness a little common sense made its way into the interpretation of this law. Otherwise, we would have opened the door for up to half the population's being considered disabled on account of easily correctable conditions common to all of us as we enter upon middle age. As Stephen Bokat, general counsel of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce put it, "It means those with true disabilities will continue to be covered, but people with easily correctable conditions will not be considered disabled."

Of course, no one can doubt that many among the ranks of disabled activists and the disability-rights lawyers will decry the court's decisions in these three cases. The rulings have the effect of limiting their capacity to bring suits against hapless companies and agencies of local governments. Good for the court for restoring some much-needed balance and perspective to the law of disability rights.