“High-ambient noise levels pose an access barrier, just as curbs pose an access barrier for wheelchairs,” claims “a retired Los Angeles doctor [and] noise activist” quoted in the Washington Post, speaking of restaurants, though his principle might if valid apply to other sorts of entertainment venues and businesses as well. While some activists hope his view of the Americans with Disabilities Act will prevail, others doubt that courts will go along. [Debra Cassens Weiss, ABA Journal]
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Daniel Fink, a retired Los Angeles doctor and a noise activist, contends that the law should apply and that The simplest modification that restaurants can make is to turn down amplified music.
Ruth Colker, a law professor at Ohio State University backs him up: “Is it fundamental to the nature of a restaurant to offer background noise? That is an untested legal question.”
I like it quiet. But Fink and Colker have two large hills to climb. A) For some restaurants the soundtrack is part of the experience. A one-size-fits-all rule is tyranny. Next they’ll be petitioning for ADA approved play lists. B) As the article points out, crowds contribute to the noise. This is the bigger hill. Are they going to have the courts forbid loud, extravagant conversation? Who will tell the New Yorkers? Crowds are generally good for business.
There is noise dampening technology that works in call centers—perhaps that could be used.
But what if there’s a restaurant that decides to pack ’em in and that the hustle, bustle and noisiness is part of the ambiance of the place? (Volare in Chicago).
“Ruth Colker, a law professor at Ohio State University backs him up: “Is it fundamental to the nature of a restaurant to offer background noise? That is an untested legal question.””
Hm, I wonder if Professor Colker is pro-choice.
Funny that no one thinks about letting the market sort it out. There are plenty of quiet restaurants. For people who like noise and a “party” atmosphere, there are noisy ones. Gov should stay out of it. In many restaurants most of the noise is people talking anyway. If you want less noise you can also go at odd hours.
Hmmm, here restaurants, what next? Stadiums and gymnasiums, bowling centers, trading floors of stock markets, concert halls and clubs, even arcades—all noisy places?
Serious question: Does the civil rights act apply to private businesses? Should it?
Don’t sports teams like the NBA, NFL and MLB discriminate based on sex?
Don’t some “black colleges” discriminate based on race?
Doesn’t even the federal government discriminate some based on sex? Think of at least former military restrictions on “women in combat” which acted to preclude them from various MOS’s.
So yes, disabled persons were given a seat at that table, along with folks over 40 for employment. Do we erase all of the laws dealing with civil rights? Do we modify some? And who choses between what is and what should be?
Just figured I would ask since the supremes decided that self-selected behaviors warrant civil rights too. I don’t think anyone ever chose to be blind or deaf or born female or born male or any particular race or from some particular country. I always heard that my right to swing my fist ended before your nose… So the government can apply these to itself, but can it apply it to private citizens and their businesses?
Don’t sports teams like the NBA, NFL and MLB discriminate based on sex?
I was under the impression that most of those leagues don’t discriminate based on sex, and would indeed take a woman who was good enough to compete at the top, professional level. It’s just that such women do not appear to exist.