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I have spent the past seventeen years of my life serving this nation in uniform...like all the male members of my family have since we arrived in this country. And for all of the sacrifices we have made for the rights and liberties of our fellow countrymen, sometimes I feel it is all for naught, because they just don't get what America is all about.

For businesses of Gettysburg, the place where the high tide of the Confederacy began to ebb, the place where arguably the civil rights movement began, and where the ideals of inclusion that were written about in the preamble to our constitution were reinforced by the emancipation proclamation, to be resistant to the ideals of inclusion and failing to uphold the Americans with Disabilities Act is disgraceful. They render themselves to the level of a cheap tourist trap, parasitically earning a buck off of the people that come to visit those hallowed battlefields.

Disabled people want the same access that any able bodied person wants, the same level of dignity. To date this woman has made no personal gain from this; no punitive damages have been awarded to her...she is simply asking for the right thing to be done, to be treated like a citizen, and an equal human being as the rest of us.

That a disabled veteran cannot enter these places infuriates me as a veteran. I would think that in a time of economic downturn, that a business would be willing to do what it takes to maximize the number of patrons that could enter and spend at its establishment. That a small business can accept low interest government loans and not be forced to comply with all laws like the ADA is certainly curious.

I would echo many of the comments posted; pathetic and disgusting...shame on the Gettysburg community.

Sir, first off, thank you for your service to this country! It is very much appreciated.

Second, I live here in Gettysburg, and you do not have the full facts behind what this woman is doing. She does not even live in Adams County and does not patronize the businesses she targets. She lives in Maryland and makes it her personal hobby to terrorize all businesses within her immediate driving radius. All she and her husband do is go from business to business and berate onwers and managers who try to help them. Last fall she made a spectacle of herself by having her husband tape-measure every door of every business in the downtown area. Feelings were so intense that day, that she had to have a police deputy accompany her for protection while her husband did the dirty work, much to the deputy's chagrin.

Most of the buildings in Gettysburg are over a 100 years old, and it would be financially crippling for the property owners and renters to make the changes she is demanding, even though she is not a customer. No one has ever turned her away, and she has an unpleasant habit of personally attacking anyone who tries to assist her at their respective establishment.

The issue with this woman is not access, but power, and she is clearly abusing ADA to quench whatever personal demons are haunting her.

I invite you to read some of the comments at the posted link, several of which are from targeted business owners, so that you may be better informed about what is going on in this community with these ADA lawsuits.