Lawmakers and advocates celebrate ADA’s 34th anniversary

OKLAHOMA CITY Lawmakers, disabled individuals, their family members and other advocates on Friday celebrated a law designed to ensure that people with disabilities have the same opportunities as others.

The Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law on July 26, 1990, prohibiting discrimination against those with disabilities in several areas, including employment, transportation, education and public accommodations.

This year's theme is “We Want a Life Like Yours.” According to The Arc, the largest national community-based organization advocating for and with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families, it reflects the disability community’s dreams for life experiences that they are too often denied.

Advocates at the Capitol Friday recognized the importance of inclusion and accessibility.

Chris Kirt, brother of state Sen. Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City, spoke on his personal experiences since the ADA was signed by President George Bush in 1990. He said the provisions of that law went into effect at a pivotal time in his life. After graduating high school in 1989, Chris set his focus on college. His first day using a scooter for mobility assistance was also his first day on a college campus. He described it as an “eye-opening experience.”

He said when he looked at universities in 1989, he wasn’t looking for the school with the most accessibility features. That first day, he said he saw more impediments than he’d ever identified that spring, and those impediments weren’t going away.

“Just by fortune, I was paired with a faculty advisor who had a brother who was disabled. She said he was in a wheelchair, and she'd seen some of these things in her own life that my sister had seen with me and had eyes for some of the issues that I was encountering,” Chris said. “What she was willing to do was be an advocate. And that was a really big, important feature of my life at that campus was to have that advocacy.”

The advisor identified and documented issues Chris had on campus and sent letters to the university describing his daily experience. Several departments, including biology, communications and engineering were not accessible to him. He ended up majoring in business because that building was.

"This legislation has enabled millions of Americans to become productive members of society. It's reduced the dependency on government assistance in a lot of ways, and it's empowered individuals to work fulfilling and independent lives."

State Rep. Nick Archer, R-Elk City

Following his freshman year, he learned that the ADA provided a funding mechanism for people to advocate, and each semester after, he said professionals would come evaluate accessibility features. He also got in touch with an attorney who helped him leave the university knowing it would be more accessible to those with disabilities who came after him and also “open up possibilities for people encountering physical barriers in their lives.”

Chris is now the vice president of corporate governance and secretary and associate general counsel for Devon Energy. He said he’s lucky to work for an employer that considered accessibility features when they constructed the tower in downtown Oklahoma.

“My everyday life with physical barriers has largely diminished and then I've been lucky to have colleagues at work and to have a wonderful family. They have great attitudes about wanting to do the right things for people with disabilities,” Chris said.

State Rep. Nick Archer, R-Elk City, said disabilities don’t care about one’s political party, a statement illustrated by the 377 Congress votes in favor of the ADA 34 years ago.

“This legislation has enabled millions of Americans to become productive members of society. It's reduced the dependency on government assistance in a lot of ways, and it's empowered individuals to work fulfilling and independent lives,” Archer said.

State Rep. Ellyn Hefner, D-Oklahoma City, said everyone has a part to play in upholding the principles of the ADA and promoting a more inclusive society. She said people with disabilities are friends, family, neighbors and co-workers, and everyone can help them.

“If you are an employer, hire people with disabilities. If you are a parent or an educator, advocate for children with disabilities to get a quality education and teach parents and kids their right to get a quality education. If you're an engineer, think about how that (design) affects people with disabilities.”

Hefner said the ADA is the cornerstone for making sure that people with disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone else, but more can be done to ensure their full participation in society.

"Some may view this as a cause. I don't think it's a cause. I think it's an effort that serves the soul and the ADA is proof of it,” Hefner said.

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