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The bus tour, produced by ADA Watch and the National Coalition forDisability Rights (NCDR), has traveled more than 15,000 miles with 45 bus stopevents in 32 states, gathering petition signatures, registering citizens tovote and attracting significant local media attention. It will return toWashington, DC this coming November.
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The Freedom Bus rolled through Iowa last week amidst the campaigns ofnumerous presidential candidates. Senator Tom Harkin, an author and leadsponsor of the ADA joined the tour in Des Moines where he called on Congressto respond to the Supreme Court's and lower Court's narrowing of the ADA bypassing the ADA Restoration Act of 2007. Speaking at an outdoor rally at NolanPlaza, Harkin said, "Many individuals who Congress intended to protect underthe ADA -- including people with epilepsy, diabetes, and cancer -- are nolonger protected as a result of these court decisions. I am working to restoreCongress' original intent, and, once again, to ensure that all Americans withdisabilities are protected from discrimination. The Road To Freedom bus tourwill help us get this job done."
Other highlights of the bus tour have included stops at the Brown v. Boardof Education National Historic Site in Topeka, Kansas; Clinton PresidentialLibrary in Little Rock, Arkansas; Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery,Alabama; Martin Luther King Center in Atlanta, Georgia; and dozens of statecapitols and city halls throughout the Nation. In coming weeks, the tour buswill stop in Minnesota, North Dakota, New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire.
Living on the bus are freedom riders Jim Ward, founder and president ofADA Watch/NCDR; Debbie Fletter Ward, former AOL vice president and director ofaccessibility; disability rights photographer, Tom Olin; and the Ward's twoboys, Zach, age 3 and Jake, age 2. Their efforts have been recognized byGovernors, Mayors, Members of Congress, as well as disability rights leadersand advocates joining them at bus stop events across America.
The complete Freedom Bus tour schedule, tour rider bios, petition tocontact Congress, photographs and more information on the tour and the ADARestoration Act can be found at: http://www.roadtofreedom.org.
SOURCE ADA Watch Coalition and National Coalition for Disability Rights
