7

Comments

A tough day

by Jennifer

Click here for Senate vote detailsTuesday was a hard day. The Senate failed to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The vote was 61-38 in favor but it needed 66 votes to be approved.

Easter Seals and other organizations have worked for many years to finally get to this vote, and you can link here to see how your senators voted.

Easter Seals worked hard to try to fight opposition that was spreading misinformation, and we did it by staying focused on the facts:

  • The Convention does NOT mean we have to change or abide by any law but existing U.S. law.
  • It does NOT allow other nations to meddle in U.S. law or with U.S. citizens.

This information comes from top bipartisan legal scholars including Dick Thornburg, who was U.S. Attorney General under George H.W. Bush.

I was sitting in the Senate gallery with many of my colleagues and friends from the disability community and it was painful to watch how the vote was affecting people. Many in the gallery were in tears by the end of the vote.

Easter Seals supports the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The CRPD is critical to expand the rights provided people with disabilities in the United States (through landmark civil rights law like the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) to the rest of the world. In addition, it would help protect Americans with disabilities who work and travel abroad (including disabled American veterans and military family members) from discrimination.

When the 113th Congress convenes next year, we will continue to push for ratification of the Convention. This is not over yet.


 

Comments may not reflect Easterseals' policies or positions.


  1. Tony Coelho Says:

    December 7th, 2012 at 2:23 pm

    Thank you for all your support – we would not be where we are without it. We will be back next year and will need your help again! We won’t give up until we pass the Treaty!! Tony

  2. Jennifer Dexter Says:

    December 7th, 2012 at 1:46 pm

    Thank you all for the supportive comments. I hope that we can all work together to make this real in the very near future.

  3. Mary Duffy Says:

    December 7th, 2012 at 3:14 am

    Wait, the day will come when a loved one of theirs will need these services; what goes around, comes around. How sad they are supposed to represent THE PEOPLE.

  4. Rob DUVall Says:

    December 6th, 2012 at 7:14 pm

    Very disappointing.