Police Ordered to Barricade Part of Capitol so Corbett Doesn't Have to See Disabled Protesters [View all]

[JPZenger]

http://blogs.mcall.com/capitol_ideas/2012/02/police-shut-off-access-to-capitol-hallway-to-dissuade-disabled-protesters.html

Excerpts:

"State Capitol Police shut down a bank of elevators and closed a stairway leading to Gov. Tom Corbett’s office and the offices of dozens of state lawmakers Wednesday in what an administration spokesman described as a “preemptoive effort” to avoid a repeat of a noisy protest last year by activists for the disabled.

...two uniformed officers stood in front of barricades in front of the elevators on the House side of the Capitol. A sign announced restricted access to Corbett’s office and the offices of Democratic and Republican state House members.

...about 100 activists for the disabled rallied in the Capitol rotunda to protest proposed cuts in state social services programs. The group planned to march to the Governor’s Mansion, which is about a mile from the Capitol. Last year, many of those same activists, some of them in wheelchairs, took over a hallway outside of Corbett’s second-floor offices. Capitol police were called in and some of the activists were seen arguing with officers...

“I don’t remember any governor ever restricting access to the public hallways,” said Rep. Steve Samuelson, D-Northampton. “People have concerns about what’s in [Corbett’s] budget and he doesn’t want people in the hallways in front of his office.”"

Photos:

http://blogs.mcall.com/.a/6a00d8341c4fe353ef0168e82d4742970c-450wi

http://blogs.mcall.com/.a/6a00d8341c4fe353ef0168e82d4522970c-450wi
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http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/harrisburg_politics/Advocates-for-the-disabled-vs-Gov-Tom-Corbett.html

Excerpts:

"The relationship between advocates for the disabled and Gov. Corbett is nowhere near civil these days. Earlier today, those advocates -- many of them in wheelchairs - were blocked during their rally in the Capitol over the administration's budget cuts from going anywhere near Corbett's 2nd floor office. Capitol police erected a barricade in front of a bank of elevators on the side of the Capitol leading up to Corbett's office suite, and later also restricted access to the stairs leading up there. There are no other public elevators or stairs that lead to that area of the building.

Also last summer, some of the advocates were cited for camping outside the Capitol during one of their 3-day vigils and were threatened with arrest. The citations were later torn up after cooler heads prevailed.

"It’s looking like because the handicapped folks were here, you blocked off the area to the governor's office," said Markosek, the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee.

But the advocates, many members of American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today (ADAPT) today said they simply wanted to voice their anger over changes to welfare regulations that have sliced funding for the home care attendants they rely on to live independent lives in their communities and inside their homes. Still, they did not let the day's events deter them. After their rally, they headed out in the rain to walk and wheel their way to Corbett's residence about a mile away."

Here is a photo taken today after the protest by persons with disabilities went to the Governor's Mansion: