Recognizing the need to improve physical access to many federally funded facilities for all people of the United States, particularly people with disabilities.

Summary

Affirms that the right to peaceable assembly includes equal physical access for people with disabilities to publicly funded pedestrian facilities and transit stops. It cites the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Architectural Barriers Act, notes recent demographic and employment statistics about disability, and calls attention to the U.S. Access Board’s 2023 accessibility guidelines for pedestrian facilities and the Department of Transportation’s December 2024 adoption that makes newly constructed or altered transit stops subject to those guidelines as of January 2025. States that once the Department of Justice adopts the Access Board guidelines they will become enforceable under Title II of the ADA, and expresses the principle that equality requires people with disabilities be able to participate fully in public life, including public demonstrations and use of public rights-of-way.

• Expresses that the right to peaceable assembly includes equal physical access to federally funded pedestrian facilities and transit stops for people with disabilities.
• Cites the ADA and the Architectural Barriers Act as the legal basis for accessibility expectations.
• Summarizes the U.S. Access Board’s 2023 accessibility guidelines for pedestrian facilities in the public right-of-way.
• Notes the Department of Transportation’s December 2024 adoption, which applies to newly constructed or altered transit stops as of January 2025.
• States that Department of Justice adoption would make the guidelines enforceable standards under Title II of the ADA.
• Highlights demographic and employment statistics showing the scale of disability in the U.S. and disparities affecting veterans and people of color.
• Is an expression of congressional findings and principles rather than a law that creates new funding or mandates.