# A real-life handicap-parking story **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 23, 2011, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-real-life-handicap-parking-story/586524 "2011-06-23T03:28:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-real-life-handicap-parking-story/586524/181 "2011-06-24T14:09:01Z")
> [@jamiemcgarry](#): > > I have no sympathy in this situation. A placard is still needed. As a man living with a permanent disability, regardless of his driving status, it is his responsibility to obtain that placard. Having a valid license is NOT necessary for obtaining one. If you are kind hearted enough to taxi him around, make the next trip to the Secretary of State. There is simply no excuse for this other than laziness. Or ignorance. Which theoretically we fight here. Certainly, the person giving the other person a lift is now informed there is legal solution to the dilemmas involved and can now make a more informed choice regarding future trips. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-real-life-handicap-parking-story/586524/182 "2011-06-24T14:11:34Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > By “she,” I meant the Secretary of State (i.e. Hillary Clinton). I’m not sure who is responsible for handicapped parking permits, but I’m guessing the title isn’t Secretary of State. He meant the STATE level Secretary of State, not the Federal level. That would be Ruth Johnson where he lives, not Hilary Clinton. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-real-life-handicap-parking-story/586524/183 "2011-06-24T14:13:33Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > The world doesn’t even try to understand the strife of the handicapped. Isn’t bad enough they never get a vacation from their afflictions? > > Dear Poster, the insensitive replies above are from objective people who have no clue what it is like to be inconvenienced let alone handicapped. They should try and function with a disability in a world that doesn’t give a crap. Uh…I have a mental disability that can absolutely destroy my life in a matter of days. It’s happened in the past. And you’re right, the rest of the world doesn’t really care, and even less so when I’m symptomatic. So you know what you do in a case like that? You learn to live with the disability with the understanding that you have to make your own way in the world just like everyone else. You take responsibility for it, learn your limits, and play the same game as everyone else. Everyone’s got their own battles and it’s childish to think yours are less fair just because they can be seen. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-real-life-handicap-parking-story/586524/184 "2011-06-24T14:19:37Z")
I don’t really have a problem with what the OP did - granted it was illegal and could’ve resulted in a fight - but I certainly understand the anger that builds over time as a result of actions like the guy in the spot. As long as he was willing to put up with the potential results of his actions (possible ticket or maybe a fight) then the worst thing he did to the guy in the car is inconvenience him - it’s not like he slashed his tires or keyed the car. I would suggest in the future, a digital camera so he could just snap a pic rather than put himself in harm’s way. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-real-life-handicap-parking-story/586524/185 "2011-06-24T14:22:51Z")
The point I was making is that you only have to read the board for a few years and you realise that quite a number of members suffer from various ailments- some serious, some less so. (Hey, I think it’s unfair that I didn’t get a bigger dick but I’m not going to park someone in because of that). Not everyone makes each thread a shrine to the slings and arrows they face. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-real-life-handicap-parking-story/586524/186 "2011-06-24T14:23:18Z")
> [@Meyer6](#): > > No, I didn’t. I get that the gym he was banned from had equipment he liked and used. I get that going to a new gym is a hassle and is not an ideal scenario. But either the ‘banning’ of his favourite exercise was a big deal or it wasn’t. Clearly there is another gym in the area where he could do most of the stuff he wants to do, because he belongs to that gym now. If the problems with management were such a big issue, he could have left and gone to that gym long ago. Perhaps he could have supplemented his gym weight lifting with some kind of home cardio or something, I don’t know. > > I just don’t understand why the banning of this exercise is an issue that merits the involvement of the Department of Justice. I’m sure Mr. McGarry will correct me if I have the wrong interpretation here, but because Mr. McGarry does not have use of his legs getting cardiovascular exercise is much more of a problem for him than for the rest of us walking folks. Just telling him to do “home cardio” isn’t really a solution, because it’s not like he can run in place or jump rope for an hour at home. I believe he’s referring to a device that is much like a stationary bicycle but uses a handcrank instead of footpedals. This is not a common piece of equipment, and would generally be used only by the disabled, though there’s no reason an able-bodied person couldn’t use one. It’s not a common item of gym equipment so there are probably few alternatives to the few gyms that own one. It’s not a matter of it being a “favorite” exercise so much as being one of the very few forms of cardio exercise open to Mr. McGarry. Though perhaps Mr. McGarry would like to consider an actual [hand](http://www.jinsa.org/files/images/3787.jpg) [crank](http://www.hiwheel.com/images/handcranked_blue.gif) [bike](http://www.tampabay.com/multimedia/archive/00059/herpac_bahr031009a_59603c.jpg) which he could personally own and use outside of a gym, thereby freeing himself from the tyranny of asshole managers. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-real-life-handicap-parking-story/586524/187 "2011-06-24T14:26:34Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > He meant the STATE level Secretary of State, not the Federal level. That would be Ruth Johnson where he lives, not Hilary Clinton. Right, he explained that. I didn’t think he actually believed Hillary Clinton was responsible for the permits, but I thought he might be using the wrong term. I don’t think we have a Secretary of State in New York. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-real-life-handicap-parking-story/586524/188 "2011-06-24T14:29:40Z")
I know he said that this gym was the only one that had a hand crank thingy, but I didn’t catch that it was this machine that he was banned from using. The whole exercise banning thing is still a bit murky. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-real-life-handicap-parking-story/586524/189 "2011-06-24T14:30:47Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I don’t think we have a Secretary of State in New York. [Seems like you do.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretary_of_State_of_New_York) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-real-life-handicap-parking-story/586524/190 "2011-06-24T14:48:16Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > [Seems like you do.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretary_of_State_of_New_York) OK then. I did try to look that up earlier, but I didn’t find it. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-real-life-handicap-parking-story/586524/191 "2011-06-24T14:58:30Z")
Banning ignorance left and right in this thread! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-real-life-handicap-parking-story/586524/192 "2011-06-24T15:22:08Z")
> [@jamiemcgarry](#): > > LOL, oh well, when I get rolling (no pun intended) responding to all these posts, I just answer 'em all. 😃 As I said in your other thread before I got tired of your is so/is not routine, you don’t have to respond to every post, and you certainly don’t have to respond to posts 3 seperate times (as you have done so several times). I do find it interesting that when someone does say something new and it makes sense. you become strangely quiet and ignore that post’s points (or go off on some unrelated tangent). > [@jamiemcgarry](#): > > That’s it. I’m done making these repititous posts. I’m definitely not going through all the effort of explaining the admittedly complex issue of the exercise banning when you ask me a question like you do with your closing sentence. I’m not answering your question, you can find your answer to that by going back and READING the thread. And as someone else said in that other thread; “Mr Pot, I’d like you to meet…”. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-real-life-handicap-parking-story/586524/193 "2011-06-24T16:00:42Z")
> [@Soliloquy](#): > > Wow. > > FWIW, in CA, he committed an infraction, you, a felony. And “he broke the law first” is not a very good defense. > > Certainly he was in the wrong, but why allow yourself to be dragged down as well, and further? Wait, it’s a felony in CA to park illegally behind a parking spot? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-real-life-handicap-parking-story/586524/194 "2011-06-24T16:03:34Z")
I’m no expert in California law, but I’m guessing that the infraction is more along the lines of intentionally creating a barrier to traffic with a motor vehicle or (as someone else suggested) illegal imprisonment. ---
**Author:** ![Soliloquy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@Soliloquy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soliloquy)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-real-life-handicap-parking-story/586524/195 "2011-06-24T16:14:39Z")
> [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > Wait, it’s a felony in CA to park illegally behind a parking spot? No, the felony, as it would be considered in my jurisdiction, since the person he was blocking was actually in his vehicle at the time and prevented from leaving by the actions of the OP, would fall under the crime title “false imprisonment”. While I know that this doesn’t make sense based on the exact definitions of the words, based on the elements of CA Penal Code section 236, it applies. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-real-life-handicap-parking-story/586524/196 "2011-06-24T16:18:53Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Though perhaps Mr. McGarry would like to consider an actual [hand](http://www.jinsa.org/files/images/3787.jpg) [crank](http://www.hiwheel.com/images/handcranked_blue.gif) [bike](http://www.tampabay.com/multimedia/archive/00059/herpac_bahr031009a_59603c.jpg) which he could personally own and use outside of a gym, thereby freeing himself from the tyranny of asshole managers. Then, he’ll just be replacing asshole managers with the tyranny of asshole drivers who wrongly believe that [roads](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/bryan_broome/sally-meyerhoff-dies-mara_n_833733_80161405.html) [are](http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-5077-goddamn_bicyclists_shouldnt_be_on_the_road.html) [no](http://bicycledriving.org/public-awareness/motorists-should-know) [place](http://bike-pgh.org/bbpress/topic/bikes-dont-belong-on-the-road) [for](http://charlottebikes.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/siers2.jpg) [bikes](http://charlotte.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/the_cycling_epidemic/Content?oid=996069). You can’t fight evil with a macaroni duck. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-real-life-handicap-parking-story/586524/197 "2011-06-24T16:22:41Z")
> [@jamiemcgarry](#): > > I have no sympathy in this situation. A placard is still needed. As a man living with a permanent disability, regardless of his driving status, it is his responsibility to obtain that placard. Having a valid license is NOT necessary for obtaining one. If you are kind hearted enough to taxi him around, make the next trip to the Secretary of State. There is simply no excuse for this other than laziness. Oh, laziness. Well, it’s too late, he’s dead. But here I was, using a handicapped space for the benefit of a handicapped person, and for a total of about two minutes–and I’m lazy? The guy in question is now dead, but thanks for your generous input anyhow. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-real-life-handicap-parking-story/586524/198 "2011-06-24T16:25:33Z")
> [@Soliloquy](#): > > No, the felony, as it would be considered in my jurisdiction, since the person he was blocking was actually in his vehicle at the time and prevented from leaving by the actions of the OP, would fall under the crime title “false imprisonment”. While I know that this doesn’t make sense based on the exact definitions of the words, based on the elements of CA Penal Code section 236, it applies. IANAL but I read that > [@](#): > > Penal Code 236 PC is a “wobbler” which means that it may be charged as either a misdemeanor or as a felony. In order to convict you of _felony_ false imprisonment, the prosecutor must additionally prove that you accomplished the restraint, confinement, or detention by means of violence, menace, fraud, or deceit. Cite [here](http://www.shouselaw.com/false_imprisonment.html). ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-real-life-handicap-parking-story/586524/199 "2011-06-24T16:25:51Z")
> [@Soliloquy](#): > > No, the felony, as it would be considered in my jurisdiction, since the person he was blocking was actually in his vehicle at the time and prevented from leaving by the actions of the OP, would fall under the crime title “false imprisonment”. While I know that this doesn’t make sense based on the exact definitions of the words, based on the elements of CA Penal Code section 236, it applies. Huh. IANAL, but it surprises me that parking behind someone’s vehicle would be considered “[substantial and sustained restriction](http://law.justia.com/codes/california/2010/pen/236-237.html) of another’s liberty.” Now, if you blocked their doors and trapped them inside the car, I can see how that could be considered substantial restriction. But the guy was able to get out of his car without risk to his personal safety and go get assistance. I have trouble seeing that as substantial or sustained. I suppose words like that make the law very subjective and so, it would depend on whether the cop and the judge see it as substantial. ---
**Author:** ![Soliloquy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@Soliloquy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soliloquy)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-real-life-handicap-parking-story/586524/200 "2011-06-24T17:08:10Z")
> [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > Huh. IANAL, but it surprises me that parking behind someone’s vehicle would be considered “[substantial and sustained restriction](http://law.justia.com/codes/california/2010/pen/236-237.html) of another’s liberty.” Now, if you blocked their doors and trapped them inside the car, I can see how that could be considered substantial restriction. But the guy was able to get out of his car without risk to his personal safety and go get assistance. I have trouble seeing that as substantial or sustained. I suppose words like that make the law very subjective and so, it would depend on whether the cop and the judge see it as substantial. IANAL either. But as a cop, there is precedent for charging a person with this crime section in this type of situation. Also, LEO’s charge wobblers as felonies. If the courts want to drop them to misdemeanors later, that’s up to them. It still goes on the record as a felony arrest. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-real-life-handicap-parking-story/586524.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-real-life-handicap-parking-story/586524.md?page=11)