Seguin lawmaker proposes help for blind hunters
Bill would allow laser sights on guns
By A.J. Bauer
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Tuesday, December 12, 2006

No state law restricts the hunting rights of people who are blind or visually impaired. There are, however, laws prohibiting the use of "beams of light" to aid a hunter.

State Rep. Edmund Kuempel, R-Seguin, wants to change that. He has filed a bill that would allow hunters who are legally blind to use laser sighting devices, as long as they are accompanied by a person who is not visually impaired and abide by the usual time and seasonal restrictions.

Such devices project a beam of laser light on an animal, allowing a seeing person to better direct a hunter where to aim.

Kuempel said that laser beams would give seeing hunters an "unfair advantage" but that such devices would make hunting "a whole new ballgame" for the visually impaired.

"This opens up the fun of hunting to additional people, and I think that's great," said Kuempel, who filed House Bill 308 late last month.

Steve Hall, director of hunter and boater education for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, said that as long as people who are visually impaired take the mandatory hunter education class and obtain a license, there is nothing legally stopping them from going out on their own.

"But we've never had a case where someone with a visual impairment would want to hunt alone anyway," Hall said.

He said that the department has printed some of its educational materials in Braille and that it can fully accommodate any physical disability.

And while Hall said he can "count on one hand" the number of times he has witnessed a hunter who was visually impaired, he said the experience was emotionally rewarding to both the hunters and himself.

"They all took game, as I remember," Hall said.

Kuempel said he has yet to meet with groups that advocate for the visually impaired to talk about the bill but plans to do so soon. Tommy Craig, president of the National Federation for the Blind in Texas, said he had not heard of the legislation and did not anticipate his group issuing a formal opinion on such a measure.

Glenda Born, who works as an assistant technology specialist with the state's Division for Blind Services, said she thinks there are more important matters that need to be addressed.

"I personally think it's a little off the wall," said Born, who is blind.

The Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services, under which Born works, had no official comment. Spokesman Glenn Neil said the department does not comment on pending legislation.

Kuempel said 15 states allow people who are blind or visually impaired to use laser sights, and he doesn't want Texas to lag behind.

"I talked to some people who were talking about legally blind people hunting, and I checked, and, lo and behold, other states already had it," Kuempel said. "So I said, 'It sounds like a good thing for the State of Texas and its people who are legally blind.' "

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