Brickbat: Easy Access

Thomas Dutour / Dreamstime.com

Officials in Duncanville, Texas, have ordered a family to remove a wheelchair ramp from the outside of their home. The ramp was built by the Texas Ramp Project, which builds ramps for those in need. The group did not obtain a permit, which city officials say is necessary for safety. But the Texas Ramp Project says it has built more than 15,000 ramps across the state with no safety issues.

Comments

[IceTrey]

So it's "We no getta our muney, you no getta your ramp."

[Adans smith]

A government ramp feed,aye?

[Juice]

Oi, where's yor ramp loicense, eh?

[What's that smell?]

"Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's" or face fines and jail-time bitches!

[Rat on a train]

If they decide to remove the ramp, they better check if they need a demolition permit.

[Miter Broller]

I always love these feel-good stories. The problem they will run into is that the required demolition permit will stall because that department will have no record of a ramp being constructed and will refer them back to the construction permit department. Meanwhile, since they won't be able to demo without the requisite permit to do so, the inspection department will start leveling fines at them mercilessly.

[sarcasmic]

The group did not obtain a permit, which city officials say is necessary for safety. But the Texas Ramp Project says it has built more than 15,000 ramps across the state with no safety issues.

The Ramp Project doesn't get it. The city isn't talking about the safety of the people using the ramp. They're talking about the safety of the people who dared to have a ramp built without asking permission and obeying orders.

[Jerry B.]

...and paying fees.

[Rat on a train]

Don't forget about the job safety of the bureaucrats.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Safety for bureaucrat jobs.

[loveconstitution1789]

...and using approved government workers.

[Conchfritters]

The permit issuing jackoff doesn't want to be a product of his environment. He wants his environment to be a product of him.

[Longtobefree]

So are those those 'officials' conspiring to violate the Americans with Disabilities Act?
A federal crime?
Where are the jackbooted thugs when we need them?

[sarcasmic]

The officials aren't stopping ramps from being built. They simply require that one must ask permission and obey orders before doing so. That's what freedom means in America. You are free to do what you want as long as you ask permission and obey orders. "Extra mayo, hold the lettuce, special orders don't upset us. But they might upset the health inspector. Need to make a call before we make your sandwich. Hold on..."

[Deconstructed Potato]

'Texas Ramp Project' was my nickname in 3rd grade.

[Deconstructed Potato]

By 4th grade it was 'Red State Ramp Champ'

[Conchfritters]

The group did not obtain a permit, which city officials say is necessary for safety.

That's strange.. i thought the ramp was necessary for safety. A permit is just a slip of paper.

[sarcasmic]

Nothing is safe unless government says it is. The paper certifies the ramp as safe. Without the paper it must be assumed to be unsafe.

Thing is, these government idiot really believe this. Last speeding ticket I got was for 60 in a 50. The trooper said "Stay safe" as he lumbered off to his unmarked Explorer after giving me the ticket. He really believes he is making the roads safe by issuing fines to people who disobey signs.

[AustinRoth]

He/she does not. That is just their programmed speech. The true reason for speeding tickets is simple - revenue.

[A Thinking Mind]

It really does take a certain delicate expertise to properly construct an inclined plane. If we let people use simple machines in their daily life without government oversight, what next? Changing their own lightbulbs?

[Rich]

Is the TPR now a designated terrorist organization?

[General_Tso]

According to the Southern Policy Law Center they are

[Griffin3]

Check with the SPLC. Might only be a "hate group".

[sarcasmic]

I've told this story before, but I'll tell it again.

When my father went through the permitting process to add an addition to his home, the petty tyrant who issues permission slips noticed that the greenhouse out back (which was there when my dad bought the place) had been built without his permission. It had stood there for 25 years without a problem, but he declared it to be unsafe anyway. My father had to tear it down before he was given permission to extend his living room over the garage. Now he can't extend the short Rocky Mountain growing season by a couple months unless he wants to spend ten or fifteen grand to replace the perfectly functional green house that had to be torn down because it was built without government permission.

[Scarecrow Repair & Chippering]

Friends had their septic tank pumped and found a hole in the tank, so they dug a hole next to it for a same-size replacement, had a new tank delivered, and it only took an hour or two to switch connections. No fuss, no muss.

At least that was the plan. So damned county inspector on a weekend family outing saw the septic tank on the freeway, knew he had issued no permits, and followed it to my friends' home. Found the unpermitted work, wrote them up.

No idea if the inspector's family recognized him for the hero he was.

[Tom Bombadil]

Serious question:

Can someone explain why a person would need a "permit" to build a ramp on their own (fuckin') private property?

[sarcasmic]

It's not your property. You are renting it from the local government. That's what property taxes are. Rent. And anything you do to the property must be approved by the people you sent that property tax check to.

[Tom Bombadil]

Thanks. All I needed was an explanation. Baaaaa. Feel so much safer now.