McDonald’s Removes Mentally Challenged Group From Restaurant (Video)
by John Prager
It
was supposed to be a "happy" meal at an Elk Grove, Illinois McDonald's
for a group of mentally challenged adults, but what they found was a bit
of a letdown when they were told they had to leave in what some are
characterizing as a case of discrimination.
Constance
Gastinell, who works with developmentally disabled adults through
programs focused on integrating them into the community, regularly takes
her charges on outings to the Elk Grove Blvd. McDonald's, but this time
she says the owner made a personal appearance to kick them out himself.
"He came in and he said, 'well you guys can't eat here. You have to
leave."
Gastinell
says that he asserted that they could not be there because they were
"conducting business," a claim she wholeheartedly refutes/ "We weren't
conducting business," she told News 10, "We came in to eat. We had no paperwork. We had money to buy."
The
owners, Dennis and Vicki Caldwell, say that the group of mentally
challenged individuals was "disruptive," and that "this recent situation
involved a food fight." The Caldwells, showing no compassion for their
guests' difficulties, added that this was not the first time such an
incident had occurred.
Gastinell
says that there was no food fight as the owners claim in defense of
their actions, and that her group was well-behaved. She says that she
has no plans to bring her clients to that particular establishment, but
that she will continue to defend them. "When you see them hurt, it hurts
you," she said, "That's why it's personal."
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