On Monday, the Advocacy group for Deaf Americans is suing the White House for not providing a sign language interpreter during the COVID-19 briefings.
What We Know
- The Covid-19 task force briefings have not been providing sign language interpreters ever since the beginning of the pandemic in March. Letters have been sent by the National Association of the Deaf to the White House in Mar. 18th about multiple complaints asking why the president is not providing the same access to emergency information to the deaf and hard hearing citizens across the nation.
- The majority of Deaf and Hard to Hear people rely on ASL language. They get their news from the television. They cannot rely on closed captions because they can be difficult to understand or unreliable when the information is complex, according to a report of CNN.
According to the lawsuit, “Tone is also often lost in Written captions. By contrast, and interpreter can convey the tone and context of a message through facial expressions, sign choice, and demeanor. Further, the provision of live closed captioning frequently contains errors and omissions that make it difficult or impossible for (Deaf and hard of hearing) individuals to understand the information being provided in the briefings, particularly if they are not fluent in English.”
- State governors use ASL interpreters to provide emergency information to their audience. However, at the beginning of the pandemic, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo failed to provide a sign language interpreter and faced a lawsuit in April by the Deaf New Yorker’s and Disability Advocates that filled in April. In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis also faced a lawsuit by the National Association of the Deaf and Disability Right Florida in July for providing ASL interpreters on irregular occasions. As a result, the governors have been providing ASL interpreters during all their COVID-19 briefings.
- The White House has been ignoring the request to address the ASL interpreters issue by multiple advocacy groups, members of Congress and the federal government’s National Council on Disability. Judge James Boasberg of the DC district course is assigned to hear the case.
The White House has not provided any comments or information about the lawsuit and the failure to proved ASL interpreters.
