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Sept./Oct. 2000

The scope of the testimony offered to Congress regarding unconstitutional treatment swept so broadly, touching virtually every aspect of individuals' encounters with their government, as to defy isolating the problem into select categories of state action. Services and programs as varied as zoning; the operation of zoos, public libraries, public swimming pools and park programs and child custody proceedings exposed the discriminatory attitudes of officials.               From the Brief to the U.S. Supreme Court by the Solicitor General   The Americans with Disabilities Act Findings: People with disabilities as a group, occupy an inferior status in our society, and are severely disadvantaged socially, vocationally, economically, and educationally . . . . . . have been faced with restrictions and limitations, subjected to a history of purposeful unequal treatment, and relegated to a position of political powerlessness in our society, based on characteristics that are beyond the control of such individuals and resulting from stereotypic assumptions not truly indicative of the individual ability of such individuals to participate in, and contribute to, society. The continuing existence of unfair and unnecessary discrimination and prejudice denies people with disabilities the opportunity to compete on an equal basis and to pursue those opportunities for which our free society is justifiably famous.   Back to "The History of Discrimination" Main Page   The light-colored type running down the edge is a listing of the hundreds of state statutes, session laws, and constitutional provisions that illustrate pervasive state-sponsored discrimination against persons with disabilities, dating from the late nineteenth century through the time of the ADA's enactment and (in some cases) to the present. To read this list, click here. Back to our home page.