As a deaf person, this bit of good news hits close to home for me personally---the issue of being able to go to a movie theater and having access to a captioned showing. When I lived in D.C., there were so many movie theaters with captioned showings because of the large deaf community, so I felt like I could spontaneously go to the movies with my husband, then my fiance. Now, being here in Texas, it's very hard to find a captioned showing, and when there is one---it's usually for a bad movie or a children's movie.
Here's the news straight from the NAD blog:
On January 13, 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit heard arguments in the Arizona disability discrimination case against Harkins movie theaters. The judges seemed inclined to decide that the display of captions and transmission of audio description services is required by the Arizona state law against disability discrimination and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The judges also seemed to think it was the right thing to do. One judge told the movie theaters’ lawyer, "You can . . . be the good guys, or you can be dragged kicking and screaming and look like jerks."
In 2008, the district court dismissed the case. The district court said that the ADA does not require movie theaters to provide auxiliary aids and services to display captions and transmit audio descriptions for its customers with sensory disabilities. The district court also said that changing audio elements to a visual format or visual elements to an audio format alters the content of a movie theater’s services and is not required under the ADA. An appeal of this decision was filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. This is the first time any U.S. Court of Appeals has considered a movie theater access case for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or visually impaired.
The National Association of the Deaf (NAD), along with many other groups, filed "friend of the court" briefs that urged the Court of Appeals to reverse the district court’s decision. In early 2009, The U.S. Department of Justice also filed a brief urging reversal of the district court’s decision.
Finally, on January 13, 2010, the Court of Appeals heard arguments to help them decide this case. Many people who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or visually impaired were in the courtroom. Lawyers from the Arizona AG’s office and the Arizona Center for Disability Law argued the case against Harkins movie theaters. The court provided captioning and American Sign Language interpreters to ensure that deaf and hard of hearing people had access to this court proceeding.
The Department of Justice did right in helping join with the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), and other disability organizations. This issue is about accessibility, and the right as a deaf citizen to fully participate in society. If the Court of Appeals does rule favorably on the side of NAD and other disability groups regarding accessibility in movie theaters, then this potentially could have a nationwide effect.
Imagine that---not having to wait months for a movie to come out on Netflix in order to have access to captions. You could go out on a date with your hearing partner, or another deaf person, and enjoy a movie together with dinner afterwards. All those things that hearing couples normally do without the barriers of deafness. If you'd like to support the National Association Deaf, please do so by going here.
For more on my posts about captioning issues and deaf issues, please click here and here.