A holiday protest at Dillard's

MURRAY — On what is traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year, a group of Utahns hoped to let retailers and shoppers know that, for them, the headaches of shopping include more than finding the right item at the best price.

Instead, the group of disabled Utahns was asked to put away its signs and leaflets.

A rally planned outside the Dillard's department store in the Fashion Place Mall on Friday was deemed a violation of mall rules, and mall security tried to quell the gathering. Eventually, even the Murray police became involved.

The protest was organized by the Disabled Rights Action Committee and ADAPT/Utah.

Barbara Toomer, secretary of DRAC's board, said she and her group stayed until 12:15 or 12:20, when the Murray police threatened to cite them for trespassing. No one was cited.

Susan Kirtz, the mall's retail and marketing manager, said the protesters were welcome they just couldn't hand out fliers or loiter in front of the store.

"They just have to abide by the rules and regulations posted at the door," she said.

Rules posted by the mall's doors prohibit "loitering, standing or walking in a manner which interferes or is likely to interfere with others." It also prohibits solicitation or leafleting.

Before the rally was dispersed, about 10 people, most of them in wheelchairs, carried signs reading, "We want to shop," "Move the racks," "ADA (the Americans with Disabilities Act) now!! No lame excuses," and "Needed: 36-inch aisles." ADA took effect in 1990.

At issue in the protest, as well as in a lawsuit filed by DRAC in July, is accessibility for shoppers in wheelchairs. The ADA requires "a public accommodation" to allow a 36-inch access through aisles. It also requires department stores to have available cash register counters no higher than 36 inches.

The lawsuit names 113 stores in four Salt Lake-area malls as defendants, along with Fashion Place and Valley Fair malls. Dillard's is not named in the suit.

Toomer didn't enter the store Friday, but she said she visited Meier & Frank and found a lowered counter there.

"It can be done; it just wasn't done" at Dillard's, she said.