Why Bother?
You know about water, right? How water makes jagged rocks smooth, has created huge cavern systems, sink holes, and washed away cliffs? I'm only here for a very short time. No one knows when that time will end or how.
So maybe it's part of my particular job here on Earth to help opposed the forced pregnancy testing and expulsion of pregnant high school girls. If I can help make a difference for one deaf 12 year-old Girl Scout denied interpreter services, I've added my drop to the stream which might give her and her sisters with disabilities more positive life chances. And if I can keep a California Boy Scout Counsel from dismissing gay boys and firing gay employees, then maybe more equality and fewer teen suicides could result, even One suicide of a gay would-be Scout prevented is worth the effort.
And if a man given the power to block construction of energy efficient homes being built and existing homes being re-financed is fired, maybe a Few more jobs will be created for people working on energy efficiency here at home.
Some of these situations are complicated. What if a gay Scout Leader molests a young Scout? Then subject him to the Same laws which govern child molestation in his state, but Don't Rush to the conclusion that this will happen.
Do I enjoy the prospect of a man I don't know being fired? No. But change for the better is Desperately needed.
I have very little money to give anyone. I am currently having to prove to a local agency that I have a disability. No, removing my prosthetic eyes isn't enough, and neither is showing officials my hearing aids, costing thousands of dollars. A Dr.
But I do have some spare time. So I can give back to my country by helping it become a more tolerant place to live, for All of its people.
Attacking Mosques, (like the one in Joplin , Mo. ) or Sikh Temples (like the one in Wisconsin
Girl Scouts Deny 12 Year-Old Deaf Girl Access to Interpreter
http://bit.ly/TkqfNj
*GIRL SCOUTS SUED FOR** FAILING TO PROVIDE SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETER*
*CHICAGO
filed a federal lawsuit against the Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago
and Northwest Indiana seeking to secure an American Sign Language
interpreter for meetings of her Girl Scout troop. The lawsuit, brought
under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, was filed in federal court in the
Northern District of Illinois.
Megan joined Girl Scouts when she was in kindergarten. For six years,
she was provided with a sign language interpreter by Girl Scouts for troop meetings
and outings. But last fall, when Megan’s mother renewed
the request for the interpreter, the Girl Scouts denied her request. Rather
than providing the requested interpreter services, Megan’s troop was
disbanded.
“Megan is heartbroken that she can no longer participate in Girl Scouts,”
said *Edie Runnion*, Megan’s mother. “All of the children in our family
have been involved in scouting, and it is devastating for Megan that she
is being prevented from being a Girl Scout.”
“Entities that receive federal funding, like the Girl Scouts, are prohibited
from discriminating against people with disabilities,” said Steven Blonder, lead
counsel in the case and a partner at Much Shelist, PC, which is handling the case
on a pro bono basis. “The Girl Scouts denial of a
sign language interpreter is a clear violation of
ederal law and our
lawsuit seeks to rectify this injustice.”
The Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana is the largest
Girl Scout Council in the country with net assets that exceed $28 million.
Its stated mission is to “build girls of courage, confidence, and character,
who make the world a better place” and to create programs for “girls of all
age levels, races, ethnicities, beliefs, economies, geographies and physical
abilities.”
“The Girl Scouts is currently celebrating its 100th anniversary, but
because of its discriminatory actions, Megan can’t be part of that
celebration,” said *Barry Taylor*, Vice President of Civil Rights and
Systemic Advocacy at Equip for Equality, and co-counsel for Megan. “The
lessons that the Girl Scouts have taught the girls in Megan’s former troop
is that it is preferable to disband a troop rather than to include someone
who is different.” Equip for Equality attorneys *Laura Miller* and *Rachel
Arfa* are also representing Megan.
“The Girl Scouts’ refusal to provide interpreter services not only violates
federal law, but also is contrary to the founding principles of the Girl
Scouts,” said *Howard A. Rosenblum*, an attorney and the Chief Executive
Officer of the National Association of the Deaf, which is serving as
co-counsel. “Ironically, Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of Girl Scouts,
herself became deaf later in life and she welcomed girls of all abilities
at a time when they were excluded from many other activities.”
For more information, please view a copy of the Complaint here.
http://www.equipforequality.org/resourcecenter/Runnion_Complaint_08012012.pdf
Reference: U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, and Chicago
Case No. 1:12-cv-06066
*Runnion v. Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana
You can find the other stories I've mentioned at Change.org, Sum of Us.org, and Rebuild the Dream.org
"Hearing" you here! Much better to act for social good than to complain about the world's imperfections.
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