Such bias often results in discriminatory actions in employment, housing, and public accommodations. Laws like the Fair Housing Amendments Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Rehabilitation Act are designed to protect people with disabilities from this type of prejudice. As a result of the publicity, Tim Dannemiller had the windows of his home shot out and was forcibly removed from his car at a traffic light and severely beaten. A mentally disabled man from Port Monmouth was kidnaped by a group of nine men and women and was tortured for three hours, then dumped somewhere with a pillowcase over his head. While captive, he was taped to a chair, his head was shaved, his clothing was cut to shreds, and he was punched, whipped with a string of beads, beaten with a toilet brush, and, possibly, sexually assaulted.
Prosecutors believe the attack was motivated by disability bias.
The schoolmates of an 18-year old North Carolina high school student with a developmental disability soaked his lunch with cleaning fluid and watched him eat it. The result was a life-threatening poisoning that sent him to the intensive care unit of the hospital and required the removal of much of his intestine. He was thrown to the ground and kicked in the face, sustaining serious injuries. Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia have already recognized the importance of this issue and have included people with disabilities as a protected class under their hate crimes statutes. It is extremely important for the federal government to send the message that hate crimes committed on the basis of disability are as intolerable as those committed because of a person's race, national origin, or religion.