|
|
Tuesday, February 9, 2010 |
Serving Seguin and Guadalupe County since 1888
|
|
|
Marketplace
Sections
Services
Service Center
|
|
 |
|
Bill designed to help blind hunters
Published December 14, 2006
SEGUIN — This week, Seguin’s state legislator is getting some uncommon attention from around the world with a bill he hopes would improve access to the sport of hunting — and to the woods — for blind Texans.
District 44 State Rep. Edmund Kuempel has introduced proposed legislation in House Bill 308 that would allow the legally blind to use a laser or “red dot” hunting scope with a spotter to hunt deer and other game.
The visually impaired can — and do — legally hunt in Texas as elsewhere in season and with the aid of spotters. Kuempel said he wants to make the sport more accessible to the blind and safer for them.
“This will open up the fun of hunting to additional people, and I think that’s great,” Kuempel said.
There are similar laws allowing the use of laser sights and spotters in 15 states, he noted.
The legislation, filed in late November, received little notice until this week when it was reported in Austin and picked up by the Associated Press.
Since then, it’s been picked up worldwide, and some of the coverage has not been so flattering in the sense the issue has been given “light” or humorous treatment and not the serious consideration Kuempel and advocates for the disabled believe it should.
“I’ve been called from everywhere,” Kuempel said Wednesday. “I’ve had calls from Great Britain, the Netherlands, New York — from all around the world. There seem to be some misconceptions out there. Many people are under the misconception that blind people can’t hunt right now, and that’s not true. They can’t get a driver’s license, so they can’t drive themselves out there, but they can hunt.”
Kuempel said he could recognize the point of view of some reporters by the tone of their questions.
“I think there’s just some misunderstanding from some of them,” Kuempel explained. “Some of them I’ve talked to, it’s obvious they don’t hunt or don’t like guns or are environmentalists. They have their opinions. My opinion is I consider this an access issue, and I consider it an environmental issue — about enabling more people to get out in the woods and enjoy nature and enjoy this sport.”
Kuempel said he sponsored the legislation after talking to hunters and to folks at the Texas State Rifle Association.
“I talked to several different people at the rifle association, and I’ve talked to other people,” Kuempel said. “I’ve looked, and 15 states do this now. So I think it sounds like a good thing for the state of Texas and for the legally blind. I’ll be talking to a lot more people.”
Dr. Ed “Doc” Bradley, president of the American Council of the Blind of Texas, is not a hunter, but that has nothing to do with what he feels about what he’s so far learned of HB 308. He said the Kuempel bill would be on his organization’s January board meeting agenda.
“It’s an accessibility issue, and I don’t know why we wouldn’t support it,” Bradley said. “I think this is a good thing because it gives the visually impaired individual an opportunity to do the things that other folks do. A lot of men like to get out and hunt. I don’t want the world turned upside down for me, but this isn’t going to hurt anybody.”
Bradley said many folks become visually impaired as they age.
“For a guy who’s lived out in the country all his life and suddenly can’t see well enough to go hunting, I think this bill could restore some of the dignity to his life,” Bradley said. “I hope I get the opportunity to spread the word about this.”
Jim Dark, executive director of the Texas State Rifle Association, lauded Kuempel for attempting to aid the visually impaired by opening the sport of hunting to them — and making it safer.
“We’re in favor of the legislation and support it very strongly,” Dark said. “One of our missions is to foster shooting sports in Texas. We don’t think it’s right to place limitations on the visually impaired.”
Kuempel’s bill, while being snickered at in some media forums, comes in the wake of several similar laws passed in other states.
“An impetus of this is the number of wounded soldiers who have returned from Iraq with visual impairments,” Dark said. “We think this is a good idea.”
The visually impaired already hunt in this state, Dark said. The way Texas law is set up now is no lasers, lights or similar devices may be used to aid in hunting. So visually impaired hunters end up using a system where they hold the weapon while a spotter looks through a scope.
“They’re able to make it work, but it would be so much easier with a laser or ‘red dot’ sight,” Dark said. “It will be safer for everyone involved, including the animal. One of the things we’re considering here is the ability to get a clear, humane shot.”
Dark noted no one would be in favor of a law that restricts the access of the visually impaired to the sport of hunting. Kuempel’s bill makes it safer, he said.
“I really don’t see any downside to this law,” Dark said. “When you look at the trend of hunting in Texas, look at the number of licenses that get purchased each year, that number is declining. Any law that opens up this sport is good for Texas.”
Stanley McGowan, Ph.D, is a retired teacher and former military flier who lives outside Fort Worth and has hunted for years. He is also totally blind as a result of a plane crash.
“Prior to losing my sight, I hunted and fished,” McGowan said. In spite of the handicap, McGowan has managed to continue to pursue the sports he loves.
“I use a rifle with a pistol scope,” McGowan said.
Another hunter looks over his shoulder and tells him where to aim.
“The problem is they have to get right up behind you with the scope,” McGowan said.
Like Dark, McGowan said he thought the system proposed in Kuempel’s legislation would make hunting safer for the visually impaired — and would increase the likelihood of a one-shot kill, which would minimize the suffering of the target game animal.
“I also think you’d be a more ethical hunter,” McGowan said. “There would be less chance of wounding the animal and having it run off or having to shoot it repeatedly.”
For his part, McGowan said he would support the Kuempel bill.
“I hope maybe there will be a companion bill in the state Senate,” McGowan said. “Why not? Why shouldn’t legally blind people have the same opportunity to go hunting as anyone else with an adaptive program? I think more people would. Not only me, but other disabled vets would be interested in trying hunting if we had this capability.”
Share |
Save |
Mail |
Print |
Comment
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|