Editor's Column
by
Tim Benjamin
The 2007 legislative session
has started, and we have many new senators and representatives who
need to become aware of disability issues. The Minnesota Consortium
for People with Disabilities has issued its position papers, and
with the help of many of the member organizations, we have synthesized
them into a publishable agenda. Check out your organizations’ priorities.
We need to plan to make an appearance at the Capitol and voice our own concerns.
The new legislators, as well as the longtime incumbents, need to be reminded
of what is important to your quality of life. Call the organization that you’re
most involved with and ask them if there’s anything you can do to help
them at the Capitol or in their offices. Most of the advocacy organizations rely
heavily on volunteerism, so do your part.
The new Secretary of State, Mark Ritchie, has pledged to continue
to educate election officials on the rights
of voters with disabilities and to make every polling site in the state of Minnesota accessible.
You can remind your legislators that you, your friends and families
put them in office because of their commitment to you, and that you
will be voting again soon to keep them in office if they listen and
act on your behalf.
We have an article this month concerning
guide dogs and the refusal of some Twin Cities airport taxi drivers
to accommodate the service animals and their handlers. The issue
seems to be that some religions have specific considerations about
how believers have contact with dogs. (If you know more about these
religious beliefs, please consider writing a short letter to the
editor to explain.) Unfortunately for these drivers, we have civil
rights laws that do not violate their religious convictions; they
are required to give the dog and the handler the same consideration
as someone without a dog. As the story’s
author says, these dogs are extremely well-trained and create no
threat of physical contact unless initiated by the taxi driver.
Some of these taxi drivers are also
refusing to transport any kind of alcoholic beverage. Again, this
is a civil rights issue, and a taxi driver is required to render
service. You’ll see in the
story what is being done by the airport commission. Right now, I’m
not sure that we need to do more than educate ourselves on what our
civil rights are, even while we respect others’ beliefs. It
might be worth thinking as well about whether an individual who is
unable to fulfill their job requirements because of their beliefs
should find a different occupation.
The Year
in Review recaps some of
our more interesting articles from 2006. (Can you believe it’s over? As always, it’s
going to take me a while to remember to write 2007.) Many of the
articles in the review point out accomplishments; some explain threats
or dangers for people with disabilities; and still others highlight
outstanding leaders in our community. The one thing that most astounds
me is that throughout the year, members of our own community have
written to inform one another of important issues.
I mentioned last month that we’ve got to be thinking about
new approaches to meeting the challenges of the “new media” environment.
One of the new approaches that a lot of mainstream newspapers are
considering is “citizen journalism.” Today, citizen journalism
is the cutting edge in journalism. You’ve probably seen it
in larger newspapers’ opinion pages and of course in blogs
and online at YouTube.com. Access Press has been using citizen journalists
for 16 years. Do you suppose Charlie Smith, the founder of Access
Press, realized that what he was starting would soon be considered
one of the successful ways to keep a community newspaper fresh and
full of the news that a community wants to read?
So let me close with thanks
for all the support through the past year, and a reminder to all
of you citizen journalists: No matter what the news or issues, you
are always welcome to submit an article or just call or write us
with an article idea. We value your input and so do your fellow readers. ![]()
