Fish Day!
Today, across the country, advocates delivered goldfish crackers to Senate offices with the message:
We are encouraged to see that the Senate came together to pass treaties to protect fish with a bipartisan, unanimous vote. Now we are here to ask the Senator to protect the rights of people with disabilities by voting to ratify the Disability Treaty.
Help us AMPLIFY this message!
Take goldfish crackers to your Senator's local office, call them or send the image above to them via Twitter and Facebook!
For more images and messaging, follow @USICD and #FishDay on Twitter and Facebook!
The time MUST BE NOW for the Senate to MOVE on CRPD ratification!
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For Immediate Release: May 7, 2014
Contact: Kevin Locke, U.S. International Council on Disabilities,klocke@usicd.org
People with Disabilities to the Senate: You Voted to Protect Fish, Now Vote to Protect the Rights of People With Disabilities
Advocates Deliver Goldfish Crackers to the Capitol and to Senators' Offices Around the Country to Call on the Senate to Support the Disability Treaty
Washington, DC - A few weeks ago, the Senate passed four treaties to protect fisheries and prevent overfishing. The treaties passed through the Senate with bipartisan voice votes without any opposition. Meanwhile, the Senate has still failed to bring the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), commonly known as the Disability Treaty, to another vote since it failed by a narrow margin in 2012. The Disability Treaty would export American leadership by helping other countries develop laws and policies based on the Americans with Disabilities Act, designed to support accessibility and limit discrimination against people with disabilities worldwide. The treaty is widely supported by disability groups, veterans' service organizations, business and faith groups, along with a coalition of both Democratic and Republican Senators, but has, so far, been held up by a few politicians on the far right.
This morning, a group of activists representing the broad coalition supporting the treaty delivered goldfish crackers to Senate offices to ask their Senators why they supported treaties protecting fish but have failed to support this crucial treaty protecting the rights of one billion people worldwide with disabilities, including 57.8 million Americans.
The activists at the Capitol were joined by activists nationwide who made similar visits to their Senators' in-state offices to call on them to stop playing political games and support the Disability Treaty.
Marca Bristo, President of the U.S. International Council on Disabilities, said "The passage of these treaties was an encouraging sign that bipartisanship is still possible in the Senate. But it's troubling that the Senate can agree to protect fish, but somehow can't agree to ratify the Disability Treaty, which would protect the rights of one billion people with disabilities worldwide. The advocates who came out today, and the thousands more they represent, are eager to see our Senators move forward with ratification of the Disability Treaty. People with disabilities cannot wait any longer."
For more information about the Disability Treaty, visitwww.disabilitytreaty.org
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