A Disability by Any Other Name is Still a Disability: Log Cabin, the Disability Spectrum, and the ADA(AA)

Seventh Circuit Review, Vol. 4, No. 2, Spring 2009

38 Pages Posted: 4 Mar 2010

See all articles by Gabrielle L. Goodwin

Gabrielle L. Goodwin

Indiana University Maurer School of Law; Chicago-Kent College of Law - Illinois Institute of Technology

Date Written: March 2, 2010

Abstract

In EEOC v. Lee's Log Cabin, the Seventh Circuit followed the Supreme Court precedent of the last decade that has increasingly narrowed the determination of what constitutes a disabled individual under the Americans with Disabilities Act. In 2008, Congress passed the ADA Amendments Act in an attempt to restore the ADA to its original purpose and the original vision of the ADA's drafters and supporters. Whether these amendments will produce dramatic changes in the way the administrative agencies and courts apply the ADA remains to be seen. Nonetheless, the only way the ADA or its amendments will successfully protect against disability discrimination is if the concept of disability in America changes along with the laws. To help break down the myths, stereotypes, and fears surrounding the concept of disability that continues today, this article suggests that instead of the dichotomous nature of determining disability, we instead consider everyone to be on a continuum of disability. By locating every individual on the disability spectrum, not only do we change the concept of disability, but we also make it easier for people to fall under the protections of the ADA so that a determination of discrimination claims can be based on the merits of the case, not merely on a narrow rendering of the definition of disability.

Keywords: ADA Amendments Act, disability

Suggested Citation

Goodwin, Gabrielle L., A Disability by Any Other Name is Still a Disability: Log Cabin, the Disability Spectrum, and the ADA(AA) (March 2, 2010). Seventh Circuit Review, Vol. 4, No. 2, Spring 2009, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1563492

Gabrielle L. Goodwin (Contact Author)

Indiana University Maurer School of Law ( email )

211 S. Indiana Avenue
Bloomington, IN 47405
United States
8128560331 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://info.law.indiana.edu/faculty-research/faculty-staff/profiles/faculty/goodwin-gabrielle-l.shtm

Chicago-Kent College of Law - Illinois Institute of Technology

565 W. Adams St.
Chicago, IL 60661-3691
United States

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