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 CA
Balancing Rights and the State Budget
Especially in the face of unprecedented financial crisis, we
cannot support the revocation of anyone's civil rights.
by David Bekhour, Sacramento Bee, December 8, 2003
For more articles like this
visit
http://www.bridges4kids.org.
As a first-year
law student, few things would pull me away from my studies at
this point of the semester. I plotted my way through the final
volley of classes last week, and the first round of exams begin
this week. Absent the death of a friend or family member, or
some equally weighty act of God, I had no intention of pulling
my nose from the law books. Then I learned of Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger's proposal to systematically dismantle the civil
rights of Californians with disabilities in his attempt to fix
the budget.
I am one of those Californians. I operate an electric wheelchair
for mobility, I consume food through a feeding tube, I use a
breathing machine for a restful night's sleep, and I live in the
community and contribute to society based on my rights as
established under the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Act.
Schwarzenegger proposes to suspend these rights -- to "cap" them
-- and to create waiting lists in their place.
I pulled my nose out of my law books.
California's Lanterman Act, which took its general form by 1974,
is one of the premier pieces of disability rights legislation.
Years ahead of its time in the nation, the act established that
individuals with developmental and other related disabilities
shall have specific rights and a guarantee of services to
support those rights.
The rights are basic but essential. They include a right to
dignity, privacy and humane care; a right to religious freedom
and practice; a right to social interaction and participation in
community activities; a right to physical exercise and
recreational opportunities; a right to be free from harm, and
isolation, and neglect; and a right to treatment and services
and supports directed toward the achievement of independent,
productive, and "normal" lives.
These rights are outlined in Welfare & Institutions Code,
Section 4502.
No one can deny that an economic cost is associated with civil
rights -- it costs money to enforce laws and ensure that
individuals or groups of individuals do not become
disenfranchised. Nevertheless, we recognize the value that these
fundamental rights add to our society, and that is why we as a
people go to great lengths to protect them.
What would occur if the governor released an analysis of cost
savings that would result from suspending California's
participation in the next election cycle? After all, it is quite
expensive to hold an election. Similarly, California could cut
costs by suspending the acceptance of any additional voter
registration forms; the Golden State could maintain a waiting
list to notify prospective voters when it was their turn to
register. Or maybe we could just suspend women's right to vote
until the state regains it economic footing.
If they believed such ludicrous proposals were being seriously
considered, Californians of all ages and races and ethnicities
would take to the streets in mass protests -- they would riot.
The vast majority of members of the disabled community cannot
riot. But we can fight. To our right and to our left are our
brothers and sisters; our mothers and fathers; our teachers and
our friends; our priests and our pastors and our rabbis.
Disability doesn't care about our past mistakes or triumphs, our
present state of grief or love, or our future -- period. But we
need leaders who do.
Especially in the face of unprecedented financial crisis, we
cannot support the revocation of anyone's civil rights. The
price of doing so is far greater than anything we could overcome
by new bond measures or steeper tax increases. The value of
progress is measured in the development of new understandings
and the achievements realized from new opportunities.
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