If deaf people aren’t disabled, why should they claim protection under the ADA and other disability-rights legislation?

Deaf Culture advocates say that deaf people are not disabled, but are members of a culture. However, many deaf people, including Deaf Community leaders, lobbied for the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which extends and protects the rights of all citizens with disabilities. They have also supported and lobbied for other disability-rights legislation, such as Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. If deaf people are not disabled, why should they claim legal protection under the ADA, Section 504, and other disability-rights legislation? Critics of Deaf Culture have accused Deaf advocates of hypocrisy. We’d like to know what our readers think. Hypocrisy means that a person believes one way, then behaves in another way. It means that a person’s actions are not in accordance with their beliefs—especially if s/he has made public statements on the subject.