BLUFFTON, SC — What would Jesus do? Tiffany Burch is confident he wouldn’t have turned her legally blind 29-year-old brother, Taylor Burch, away from the LowCountry Community Church in Bluffton because he brought his eyes — his trained guide dog, Indy — with him to services last Sunday.
Faith-based groups aren’t required to abide by the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The usher who questioned Taylor Burch about the dog and made him feel unwelcome didn’t break any federal laws, “but he darn sure went against his religion … and [left] a pretty awful impression of the church he serves,” his sister wrote on Facebook.
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“Remember folks,” she wrote, “Jesus healed the blind; he didn’t turn them away.”
The church apparently saw the flaws in the policy disallowing service animals and turned it around after the Burch siblings made separate posts on social media. Taylor Burch wrote on Facebook that the experience left him feeling “mortified and embarrassed,” and he’s looking around for a new church.
“Your policy needs to change for all disabled Americans,” he wrote. “Our very own American veterans and heroes with service dogs can’t even attend your church according to your ‘legal service dog policy.’
“The other truly disabled people of this community that would have wanted a loving church cannot attend your church with their service dogs. How does this help embrace the lame and disabled of this community? You have shunned us based on your service dog policy. We don’t want to be asked to sit in the lobby or on your porch only. How degrading.”
The church usher reportedly told Burch that too many people were passing off pets as service animals, creating an unsafe environment for others attending services. After a brief discussion, Burch said he would just leave rather than be relegated to somewhere other than the sanctuary.
“He (the usher) said, ‘Why do you need it?’ I said, ‘Because I am legally blind.’ He said, ‘Are you totally dependent on it? I said, ‘Yes.’ It’s like he didn’t believe me,” Burch told WSAV. “I was embarrassed, I felt targeted, I said, ‘You know what? I am just going to leave.’ “
Burch and Indy waited outside in the heat until his mother could pick them up.
Burch told the news outlet that Indy is specially trained to be unfazed by noisy situations and large crowds.
“He’s been in hotels. We’ve taken him to concerts, movie theaters, and we’ve never had anyone turn us away,” Burch said. “I would never in a million years expect it from a church.”
The LowCountry Community Church responded after the Burch siblings’ posts blew up on social media. In a statement to Yahoo Lifestyle, the church said its policy was “certainly legal,” but “we now realize it was not sensitive, wise or reflective of our heart.”
“This Sunday, July 7, 2019, LowCountry Community Church will return to its original policy of warmly welcoming service animals and, more importantly, welcome their beloved owners.”
In a statement to WSAV before the policy change, the church said: “Allowing an unlimited number of potentially uncertified animals, with minimal venue restrictions, as the existing law requires, would be a safety risk to the approximately 2,500 people who attend events in our facility each week.”
The church’s pastor, Jeff Cranston, said he was taken off guard by Burch’s assertion that he wouldn’t return to the church now that the service dog policy has been updated.
“The young man said he would indeed return the following week without his service animal and he was assured of the ready assistance of our volunteer team,” Cranston wrote in an emailed statement to WSAV. “Therefore, we were surprised to learn via social media of his subsequent comments, and we share his concern over the inadequacies of the ADA Title III.”
A disability rights group, Able South Carolina, said it was “appalled” by the treatment of Burch and his service dog.
“While the Americans with Disabilities Act exempts faith-based organizations, we encourage all organizations to comply anyway. … If people with disabilities aren’t allowed the full access and the accommodations they need in their community, then the church is not inclusive at all. A church that turns people with disabilities away at the door is in no way ‘welcoming.’ “
The incident underscores misunderstandings about service animals, the group said.
“Like a pair of crutches or a wheelchair, guide dogs allow people with disabilities full access and independence in society,” Able South Carolina wrote. “They are trained to behave appropriately and provide an essential service. Just like hospitals are required to accommodate both individuals with service animals and people with dog allergies, churches can also find common solutions without segregating or excluding anyone.
“Full access and inclusion for all cannot be reached until people with disabilities are treated with equal respect.”