Persons with disabilities face huge obstacles. Persons confined to a wheelchair face sometimes insurmountable obstacles. So, it is nice on occasion to see some folks doing the right thing. The famous musical “Texas” staged every summer in the Palo Duro Canyon settled a lawsuit by making the musical accessible to persons with disabilities, including those confined to wheelchairs. The good folks at Texas Civil Rights Project brought the lawsuit on behalf of a man in a wheelchair, James Redwine. Mr. Redwine purchased a higher priced ticket to see the show, last summer. But, his “seat” turned out to be an empty space in the aisle and blocked other patrons and an exit.
A few years ago, I represented a girl who simply wanted to see movies at her local theater in a small town near San Antonio. When a co-worker and I visited the theater, I was happy to meet the owner who actually was very knowledgeable about the accessibility requirements and was already doing basically everything he could to make his new theater accessible. Sometimes, people do the right thing, because they are forced to by a lawsuit. Sometimes, they do the right thing, because it is the right thing to do. Either way, it is the right thing to do and it does benefit those most vulnerable. Either way, i think such people should be applauded.