Posted on 05/22/2012 4:32:53 AM PDT by IbJensen
Last week, news was made as today’s deadline approached for commercial and municipal swimming pool owners to install means, by which disabled swimmers could enter the nation’s swimming pools. It is the kind of regulation that would make a great punch line for the conservative version of the Daily Show, if conservatives were that funny. The Obama Administration has recently construed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Standards for Accessible Design to apply to the act of swimming.
Today, this regulation was supposed to go into effect, opening up the owners to $100,000 fines as well as trial lawyer liability. However, thanks to the kindness of the Justice Department, existing pools now have until January 2013 to comply. “Newly constructed or altered places of public accommodation, commercial facilities and state and local government facilities” operating swimming pools will now be required to install permanent structures that lower physically disabled patrons into the pool. These establishments may also be forced to remove “accessibility barriers.”
The premise of this entire concept — allowing bureaucrats in DC to tell Americans how to run their swimming pools is more outrageous than the overly scandalous title to this article. Purchase and operation of these mechanical arms or “elevators” that lower people into the pool cost northward of $10k.
The fact that the Justice Department and the Obama Administration are allowing a regulation like this to go into effect demonstrates two important points — first, democrats are the party of over-regulation and second, democrats are not friends to poor people.
Regulations.
Democrats have spent the better part of the past six years demonizing republicans for seeking less regulations. To be sure, many regulations are necessary. But there is two sides to the regulatory coin and the dark side is a government that is so large and intrusive that it tells us how our toilets will flush, what light bulbs to put in our kitchen and what our community swimming pools will look like. It is academic arrogance by both parties that allow people living in Washington DC to know better than people in their own communities.
This is the type of regulatory nightmare that hurts small businesses like hotel chains. It is the exact opposite of what a government should be implementing during a recession. In fact, many pools throughout the U.S. may now have to shut down.
The poor.
More importantly, this type of act showcases how out-of-step the Administration is with the American people. Growing up in a lower-middle class family, summer time was a time where my mother took my brothers and I to public pools for recreation and to save money by not running the air conditioning at home. In fact, for many poor people throughout every city south of Chicago, a community or municipal pool is the only social recreation that the poorest among Americans can afford.
Many hotels will be shutting down their pools until they can afford to install the robotic limb. Not only does this kind of regulatory overreach hurt small businesses, it hurts the poorest amongst us going into a very hot summer.
For all of the demagoguery we here about republicans being the party of millionaires and billionaires and democrats caring for the poor, no millionaires or billionaires will be required to alter their pools. It will mainly be poor minorities in the south that will feel this kind of heat from the administration.
Liberals (both Rs and Ds) want more regulations, but there is a line that goes too far and the Administration is stomping all over it. It won’t be rich-white-Republicans that will feel the Administration’s pressure on this one, it will be lower class minorities that are hurt the most. And that, is something to be ashamed of.
I defy anyone to name ONE thing the “goverment” does not have their over-reaching hands in! Name just ONE.
The air you breath.
Where you may walk.
How you travel.
What you may eat.
What kind of pet you may have.
But you can “marry” whatever you like.
I’ve never seen this device, but now I’m wondering... How many of our little water lizards are going to be hurt by playing with this elevator? We all know how “attentive” the parents of “other peoples’ kids” are.
Or a ramp to the pool...are they supposed to drive their chair into the water?? Great comment there.
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Our local lake has a ramp in for the disabled. So does an older theraputic pool in the area.
I personally know a handicapped person who goes around looking for businesses to sue.
About the only thing that could top this would be the Obama regime, in its pursuit of more gay marriage, mandating that at least one partner to a pairing be outfitted with the means to provide vaginal birth.
They aren’t in your bedroom. Well ok they define what a bedroom is, where the light switches are, the bed, the lamp, the clock radio. Heck they even put threatening little notes on the mattress and pillows.
But by golly if you want to do something with another member of the same sex they’ll certainly not discourage that activity.
My company was threatened with a suit over the height of handicapped parking signs.
Not the lack of spaces but the height of the signs marking them.
“Do they also have to provide a lifeguard to ensure the handicapped person doesn’t drown?”
That is exactly what I was wondering... is there going to be some kind of regulation that a handicapped person had to be able to actually swim? Does the pool owner have to provide a means for that person to enjoy being in the water?
Pool ramps are part of the regs.
http://www.access-board.gov/adaag/html/adaag.htm#15.8 Swimming Pools, Wading Pools, and Spas
Ramp installation isn’t cheap either, many ‘public-access’ pools will need to be fiscally shut down.
I’m wondering when the ADA will get around to regulating ponds, lakes and ocean areas with lifeguards...if everyone can’t enjoy them then ADA likes to make regulations that no one can....
I know of one too. Businesses in my area that are in the know don't improve anything for fear that he'll sue the crap out of them. The ADA laws are very precise and many contractors don't follow them - putting businesses in a monetary bind. There are businesses in my area that have closed because of it - others have cost of tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars to fix to spec.
Unfortunately the best thing to do is not improve anything - sit idle - if you dare to make your business more accessible and don't do it absolutely correctly - you are toast.
“Which Obama “cash bundler” owns the factory that is going to manufacture these devices?”
I think you hit on it! Follow the money.
Good points.
Accessibility on websites is a big thing now. I don't know if anyone has been sued, but it would surprise me.
We’ve got one of these in the pool at the city rec center where I swim. It effectively blocks on of the swimming lanes...and nobody ever uses it.
This is typical.
Bush Sr pushed this piece of crap Federal law ADA and liberal Martha supposedly was pushing him on it.
This type of dangerous and destructive law uses the words ‘reasonable accommodations’ which allows any administration to come in and bankrupt not just businesses but local governments.
I have long noticed bathrooms with limited space that are required to use it all for a single stall.
Or the $500 fines for parking in a handicapped parking spot, yet the police never spend the time to stake out these spots so non-handicapped relatives can and do just use the parking decals for their own parking without a threat.
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I take charge by taking my son to the YMCA, or other places that have chosen to be made accessable. I never stated that the government should force pools to impliment the lifts. They are just handy to have in place.
Getting someone into a pool is easy, it's getting them out. Especially when the are a full grown person.
If this satanical evil regime ever coaxed Dr. Frankenstein into doing this we’d be faced with a new minority of hideously ugly zombies mating with vacuum cleaners.
Although the stupid marxist puppet embraces abortion with great gusto, he’d have to unleash his powerful killing machines in order to get rid of the monsters. His wookie could be an engineered zombie with a custom exterior. Although the good doctor forgot to enhance her lactose producers.
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