Disabled People and People With Dwarfism Blamed For In-Air Collision

President Trump gave a press conference and blamed disabled people and people with dwarfism for an in-air collision between a passenger plane and a helicopter.

 On January 29 a tragic accident occurred when a passenger plane collided with an army helicopter. All involved were killed. The wreckage is still being drawn from the Potomac River today. 

President Trump went on the offensive, blaming the accident on equal opportunity hiring practices and alleging that the accident was due to the FAA hiring "individuals missing extremities, paralysis, severe intellectual disability, psychiatric disability and dwarfism." He also included people with psychiatric disorders in the mix.

People from minority races, women, people with certain disabilities, people of certain religions, and others, have fought for centuries for equal rights protections under the law. Over the years, various laws have passed assuring that candidates are not ruled out for hiring or promotion based on those issues. People are guaranteed they will be hired based on merit rather than rejected on the basis on race, religion, gender, or disability. If a person is qualified and physically capable of doing a job, then the law states that a person should be hired for the job if they are the best candidate.

President Trump has issued several orders, dismantling the equal opportunity divisions of all Federal agencies and removing the requirement for Federal agencies to interview and employ people without regard to race, religion, sex, and other characteristics defined in the various civil rights acts. His Justice Department has issued a statement that it will not accept any new civil rights cases. Through these actions, the Trump Administration has effectively dismantled equal opportunity protections in Federal employment. 

Also, today, the president issued a statement that he would terminate the visas of any foreign student who protested against the Israeli bombardment of civilians in the Gaza strip in which more than 46,000 people have been killed so far, the vast majority of whom were civilians.

Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act

Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act

Executive Order 11246 - Wikipedia