A shameful slap in the face

The United States has one of the most enlightened anti-discrimination laws in the world, the Americans with Disabilities Act, which protects and accommodates those with disabilities so they can be full and functional members of our society. It makes sense that we would encourage other countries to adopt the same standards by signing a treaty to that effect, right?

Not if you’re a Republican Senator.

Here’s Democratic Senator John Kerry on the treaty:

"What this treaty says is very simple. It just says that you can't discriminate against the disabled. It says that other countries have to do what we did 22 years ago when we set the example for the world and passed the Americans with Disabilities Act."

Again, that sounds good. What happened?

The vote took place in an unusually solemn atmosphere, with senators sitting at their desks rather than milling around the podium. Former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, looking frail and in a wheelchair, was in the chamber to support the treaty.

The treaty, already signed by 155 nations and ratified by 126 countries, including Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia, states that nations should strive to assure that the disabled enjoy the same rights and fundamental freedoms as their fellow citizens. Republicans objected to taking up a treaty during the lame-duck session of the Congress and warned that the treaty could pose a threat to U.S. national sovereignty.

"I do not support the cumbersome regulations and potentially overzealous international organizations with anti-American biases that infringe upon American society," said Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla.
…
The opposition was led by tea party favorite Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who argued that the treaty by its very nature threatened U.S. sovereignty. Specifically he expressed concerns that the treaty could lead to the state, rather than parents, determining what was in the best interest of disabled children in such areas as home schooling, and that language in the treaty guaranteeing the disabled equal rights to reproductive health care could lead to abortions. Parents, Lee said, will "raise their children with the constant looming threat of state interference." Link

The treaty needed a two-thirds majority to pass and fell short by five votes, 61 to 38. Only Republicans voted against it. And they rejected it because of loony right-wing conspiracy theories over the United Nations and how they want to take over the United States.

For shame. Is there no depth to which these people won’t sink?