Disability Rights

I have long been a champion for all underprivileged groups from LGBTQIA+ communities to people with disabilities. I have especially long supported the inclusion of people with disabilities in the political and social fabric of society. There are four basic tenants of fair treatment for disabled people that I believe in.

1. Freedom of movement

• Architectural accessibility — in homes, neighborhoods, workplaces, businesses, and all public buildings and spaces.

• Access to treatments and technologies that enhance independent mobility, with affordability, choice, and minimal red tape.

• The ability to choose where to live, where to go, and what to do — free of excessive or discriminatory restrictions, regardless of their benevolent intent.

2. Freedom from judgment and violence

• Basic civility and reserved judgment in everyday interactions — so disabled people are free from unwanted judgment, belittling, and bullying, from strangers or those close to us.

• Full credibility and respect for all disabilities, including those that are less visible or widely understood.

• Basic safety from physical and emotional attack and abuse, by anyone.

3. Freedom from shame

• Emotional support and philosophical frameworks to accept everyone as they are, with strong inner confidence and pride.

• Participation and representation in media and popular culture, including images of disabled people everyone can identify with, reinforcing that everyone is full and worthy members of society with stories to tell.

• Social acceptance of the full range of life choices and coping mechanisms, so no one is held to a narrow template for how disabled people should behave.

4. Freedom of decision making

• Equal, age-appropriate legal status and agency based on the same criteria as non-disabled people, with no disability alone invalidating full citizenship and autonomy.

• Material conditions that allow for a wide range of practical choices, so that “choices” are meaningful, not narrowed or restricted solely by a lack of resources, infrastructure, or imagination.

• Support, not control, for disabled people who need help to be able to make their own choices — ensuring that when needed, they have true partners and allies, not supervisors and disciplinarians.