Posted on 09/27/2020 8:09:01 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A local family says their disabled son was unfairly turned away from the ABQ BioPark Zoo for not wearing a mask despite having a doctor’s note.
The Peterson family decided to go to the zoo for a family outing on Sept 19. They were all wearing masks at the time, except for 14-year-old Nicholas who is severely disabled.
“We just feel like he was definitely mistreated,” said his father, Robert Peterson. “He was refused because he was not wearing a mask…. By the time my wife got him back to the car he was in tears and just upset. He’s non-verbal so there’s really no way to explain to him the reasons he wasn’t being allowing in opposed to his sisters.”
Nicholas is wheel-chair bound and suffers from deafness and autism. His doctor provided a letter which indicates “he is not capable of wearing a face mask for a sustainable time.”
Family says disabled son was unfairly turned away from BioPark Zoo for not wearing mask “He has a medical exemption from wearing a mask,” said Peterson. “It’s extremely stressful for his autism and sort of makes him freak out and have episodes.”
Peterson has since filed a complaint with the federal government via the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.
“The people at the zoo wouldn’t even look at the doctor’s letter… they refused to bring him in,” said Peterson.
MIXED MESSAGES?
Outside the zoo’s entrance a poster indicates “Masks are required for all guests” and that “No Medical Exemptions” are allowed.
It’s a policy that seems at odds with what’s posted online at the City of Albuquerque’s website regarding the face covering mandate. The city’s website read: “Exceptions to this order are individuals with medical exemptions issued by their doctor and children under the age of 2 years old.”
The BioPark’s website does not mention medical exemptions specifically.
As for Robert Peterson, he wants both clarity and a fix to the zoo’s policy.
“The main point is if this is happening to Nicholas we feel it could be happening to other people as well… and we don't want anyone with a disability to be treated like a second class citizen,” said Peterson.
A spokesperson for the BioPark issued the following statement:
“Mask requirements, timed ticketing, and capacity limitations at the BioPark protect public health and animal health, and contain the virus so we can safely stay open for everyone. We are sorry the family had a bad experience, but there are no medical exceptions, and that information is on signs at the park."
I hate to read such stories, though I’m sure it happens a lot. When left to one’s own devices, many people either lack common sense or any empathy. I would also guess that the staff who refused to let this disabled kid gain admission, is a person who has not worked with the disabled. I have.
They don’t know what a trip in the community with family at the zoo can mean to these folks. That, or the staff just didn’t give a damn, “Rules R Rules!! and don’t U forget it!!”
Sue, ADA. Let’s go
And the tyranny marches on. I’d sue if I were the parents.
The family may win the PR battle, but my money would be on the zoo being legally in the right. (While we all probably agree that masks are more political theater than functional).
The legal theory is that the zoo has a duty to protect the animals, and there have been reported cases of various animals being positive for WuFlu. Example here:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/04/tiger-coronavirus-covid19-positive-test-bronx-zoo/
And here, there wasn’t a real medical indication for the exemption. The kid didn’t have respiratory issues, he had mental issues (either real or so called ‘spectrum’ autism.)
Seriously? When you go to a zoo have you ever gotten closer than 50 feet to any animal except the goats in the petting zoo?
If we continue to be sheeple and refuse to stand up against the cult of the mask, we will find ourselves permanently required to wear masks whenever we leave our homes even long after the virus has passed. So that family should sue. We need to resist the cult of the mask in any and every way we can.
I know from personal experience that Menards and Jersey Mike’s both go beyond the mask mandate and do not allow medical exemptions.
What I can’t figure out is why any company is willing to alienate customers over this. I will never eat at Jersey Mike’s again and I choose Home Depot now every single time. We live in a fixer upper so we are constantly shopping for materials.
Why are so many businesses going well beyond the mandate?
So apparently, according to the zoo, there’s no ‘under the age of 2’ exemption either.]
OK with putting a mask on a 1 year old?
I am beginning to agree with you.
I fear that the mask will be a permanent part of our lives and I, for one (and probably many), DO NOT WANT THIS TO HAPPEN.
So we must fight back. It’s now or never.
The thing of it is, is that those low-level employees are probably very afraid to lose their jobs if their bosses don’t want to have people who don’t wear masks.
So they err on the side of caution.
Yeah, today I saw two children; both were little. One child looked to be around two and the other, about five. They were both wearing masks.
The mom was right there of course, but I didn’t say anything. No reason to make her feel bad.
The Americans with disabilities act and the subsequent federal code of regulations require that businesses, with more than 50 employees, government and all other entities make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities. People are not required to show documentation and you are not allowed to ask, unless you are asking for above and beyond accommodations such as an IEP or a 504 in education. That is because you are asking for the government to specifically discriminate against other people in your favor. The fcr further stipulates that you must accommodate for the worst of conditions an individual has, and even sporadic and occasional disability flare-ups count when it comes to accommodating people with disabilities. Don’t believe me??? Then consider all the people that take stupid horses and pit bulls and on airplane rides as therapy pets. It’s the stupidest thing, but airlines aren’t allowed to ask for proof of disability (good or bad). This zoo is going to be sued or they are going to pay a lot of money to settle. Furthermore, they have now opened themselves up to be civilly fined and sued by the federal government.
Lots of places are refusing to honor disability claims, and yes maybe parts of the ADA are ridiculous- but it is intended to help people like this little boy who in times past would be shut out of participating in public life. There’s going to be a lot of lawsuits once this whole stupid Covid thing is over, especially for all the places that were very heavy-handed in their COVID policies. Remember, these anti-handicap fascists are the same word police years ago who said we can’t use words like, “mentally retarded”, “disabled”, “handicapped”, “Learning disabled”, “deaf” etc.
Well you might consider that a lot of businesses are being fined into non-existence. A lot of these small businesses lose either way.
In Singapore, they just announced the children’s six and under don’t have to wear a mask
for idiocy.
for idiocy.
Obviously, the zoo is run by Biden voters
Liability/insurance/lawyers.
No business liability "shield" was passed by Congress.
Some wear masks, some don't.
Nobody cares.
Trump country.
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