Whinging businessmen take aim at the disabled

Last week, the States passed new anti-discrimination legislation requiring that all businesses be sufficiently accessible by disabled people by 2020. Despite this being a major and important step forward for disabled rights in Jersey, Gerard Voisin, one of Jersey's more prominent activists against the rights of consumers and workers and further taxation of businesses (i.e. er, anything that might threaten his profits as the owner of the oldest family-run department store in Britain) has once again decided to speak up for those poor, oppressed business owners, warning that "some people might be put out of business" by the costs of installing disabled access, while lawyer Lindsay Edwards-Thatcher warned that "Jersey is introducing large amounts of regulation too quickly", adding that "this year is probably going to be the worst ever for employers".

Oh, cry me a river. These business types crying out at the supposed oppression of the businessman do my head in - frankly, if you can't comply with basic discrimination laws, you shouldn't be in business. End of. Laws against discrimination based on sex, race, religion, sexual orientation and, yes, disability are a cornerstone of any even nominally free society, and for businesses to whine that they can't afford to allow people who already suffer so much hardship in life to access their premises is pathetic. Certainly Mr Voisin, a man from one of Jersey's oldest mercantile families and owner of the Island's largest department store, has no right to be whinging that he can't afford it. Maybe some of that sweet family cash would help plug the gap, eh, Gerard?

Disabled rights are an area where progress is vitally needed - it should not be allowed to be discredited in the name of the profit margins of crybaby capitalists.