Tuesday letters: Disabilities law has transformed lives

On July 26, 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed the most important piece of legislation to ever pass for the disability community: the Americans with Disabilities Act. This law has helped millions of people with disabilities by granting civil rights protections. It guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in employment, public accommodations, transportation, state and local government services and telecommunications.

This law allowed me to go to school and work and ask for accommodations I need without being discriminated against. It allows me to live my life.

We should celebrate the anniversary of this law, but the fight isn’t over yet. I compare the passage of the disabilities law with the Civil Rights Act in 1964. A few barriers came down, but we now have to change the mindsets of people and to push for access and independence worldwide.