A scheduled Denver City Council debate is garnering attention after District 10 Councilman Chris Hinds, who relies on a wheelchair for mobility, was not able to gain access to the stage. via Meghan_Lopez
DENVER — A scheduled Denver City Council debate is garnering attention after District 10 Councilman Chris Hinds, who relies on a wheelchair for mobility, was not able to gain access to the stage to participate.
However, because Hinds is participating in the Denver Fair Elections Fund and has accepted money for his campaign, he didn’t have an option but to participate. Beyond that, he was worried that someone could drop him or damage his wheelchair in the process of trying to hoist him onto the stage. Eventually, event organizers decided that the best idea was to move the debate onto the floor in front of the stage so that Hinds could participate.
Last month, Rep. David Ortiz, D-Littleton, tweeted about not being able to attend an event at the Denver Press Club with the Latino Caucus because the building was not ADA accessible. During their time serving, there has been some progress. At the Colorado State Capitol, lifts and ramps were added to give Ortiz better access to the building. Last year, he was the first person in a wheelchair to preside over the committee of the whole after a lift was added to get him onto the dais.
“A great example of lack of enforcement of disability rights laws is Denver's absolute refusal to enforce snow shoveling ordinances, which has been a huge problem for all of us who use wheelchairs,” said Julie Reiskin, co-executive director of the Colorado Cross Disability Coalition. “ADA is a law, and laws have to be enforced. We don't have very many lawyers to enforce the ADA.”
A third bill would require health insurance providers to cover prosthetic devices for people under the age of 26 who want to participate in physical or recreational activities, like sports.
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