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About Us |
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| This page is designed to provide general information about The Alliance for Disabled Sportsmen Rights -- including our mission, and our procedures. | ||||||
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Our Mission: |
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The Alliance, a non-profit, grassroots organization was established to coordinate the ongoing efforts of disabled individuals working to achieve equal access to all hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation opportunities where disabled people are not presently being given the full access opportunities they deserve to participate in government programs in the outdoors while recreating within the United States. The Alliance shall aid disabled sportsmen in exercising their free will and legal rights to rectify these situations and enable disabled sportsmen to attain the equal access they deserve to all outdoor recreation programs, facilities and lands throughout the United States of America. |
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Our Current Goals: |
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1. Identify areas of discrimination that exist within government agencies where disabled sportsmen are not presently given equal access opportunities to outdoor recreation to participate in government programs, at government facilities and on government lands equally within outdoor recreation in the United States. Once identified it shall be the primary goal of the
Alliance to aid disabled sportsmen to exercise their free will and legal rights to rectify these situations allowing disabled sportsmen equal access to all outdoor recreation facilities, lands and programs throughout the United States of America. |
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Our Current Issues: |
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1. The initial and primary issue for the Alliance at this time is the reform of disabled archery regulations nationwide to ensure disabled archers are afforded an opportunity to choose the weapon that best accommodates their needs—this includes legalization of crossbows, modified bows, the body brace and the mouth tab. This issue shall continue until disabled archers in all states are allowed
standardized crossbow regulations and bow modification accommodations throughout the United States. 2. Negotiations began in November, 2003 to work with the United States Department of Agriculture and its branch the US Forest Service to find ways to facilitate disabled sportsmen in wheelchairs and allow them better access to forest service lands where forest service road closures have prevented them from physically opening gates or passing beyond present barriers. This issue began In Washington State as a result of access restrictions reported to the Alliance by a Disabled Sportsman from Washington State and it is anticipated that once remedies are in place there, Forest Service Road closures in other states can replicate the solutions. 3. Talks began in November 2003 with the Ohio Department of Fish and Wildlife to address access issues on public lands set aside by the state for use by disabled sportsmen where it has been found that the land presently is not set up for adequate wheelchair use on these lands. In this issue the Alliance would like to work as allowed by the state of Ohio to help organize able-bodied and disabled sportsmen alike and work toward helping the state build more accessible trails and blinds for hunting on these properties where disabled sportsmen can enjoy these lands to the fullest extent intended of them. It is now the beginning of the year 2004 and the Alliance would like to ask all disabled and able-bodied sportsmen alike to contact us as new disabled access issues become apparent and ask you all to take a stand with us to improve outdoor recreation where we can all work together to realize a job well done in rebuilding outdoor recreation opportunities we can all share equally together. Contact Alliance@disabledrights.org to report new access issues and to offer your services in helping to rebuild outdoor recreation in America. |
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Press Releases: |
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The Alliance has released the following official press releases: |
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The Current Situation: |
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Today, many states fail to recognize that there are unique requirements
created by the diversity of disabilities, resulting in unreasonably
complicated and restrictive regulations for disabled hunters. This lack of
awareness forces disabled hunters to adopt equipment that does not meet
their needs, or to forego hunting in some states. The Coalition believes
that decisions about which devices will most safely and efficiently
accommodate a disabled hunter's individual needs should be made by that
individual and his or her licensed physician. |
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Our Stories: |
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Coalition members are full of testimonials relating to the difficulties they
face when trying to hunt as an equal. Most of these stories revolve around
various states failing to accommodate their disability adequately. To view
these stories, please click here.
>>Our Stories>>
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The Crossbow Map: |
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The crossbow regulations across the nation are wide and varied. The
Coalition is currently researching the regulations in each state, and then
determining whether that state has a reasonable or unreasonable crossbow
policy. To view the state-by-state crossbow regulations,
please click here. |
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Improvements Made: |
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| The following is a list of crossbow regulation changes that have been made over the last year. Note: Some of these changes are the result of Coalition pressure, and some changes are not. | ||||||
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Hawaii |
The Coalition has just been informed that our requests for the crossbow accommodation in Hawaii have been accepted. Hawaii claims that they have allowed disabled persons to use crossbows "for some time", but only just recently placed the application permit on their website. The Hawaii application permit is available here. The application is very simple and requires only a doctor's signature. In response to these findings, the Coalition will change Hawaii's color on a Crossbow Map from red to green. | |||||
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Florida |
Has stated that they will now allow crossbows to be used by non-resident disabled hunters. >>more>> | |||||
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Maryland |
Will now allow disabled hunters to receive a crossbow permit with just a doctor's signature, and without the need to mail back an application for an approval process. >>more>> | |||||
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Massachusetts |
Will now allow any disabled person with a doctor's signature to use a crossbow. Previously, only allowed those with paraplegia and Cerebral Palsy. >>more>> | |||||
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Our Method: |
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| To reform these unacceptable situations,
The Coalition intends to use all available remedies within the Americans
with Disabilities Act to achieve equality for disabled hunters in all
seasons.
The Coalition will help organize its individual members, so that each member does the
following: |
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| 1) Request an Accommodation from the
designated resistant State -- this is simply a letter sent to the
State's wildlife management agency making a formal request to use a crossbow
in order to participate as an equal in their archery season. We try to
coordinate our members so that all individuals send their request for
accommodation letters at the same time. We hope that the states will get the
message that this is the right thing to do, and will change their
regulations on their own. Should the State deny these requests
for accommodation, then we move to Step #2 |
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| 2) File a Complaint with the Department of
Justice under the ADA -- the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits
any State agency from discriminating against disabled individuals. Should the State
deny our request for accommodation, then each individual member will file a
formal complaint with the Department of Justice. Again, we try to coordinate
our members so that all complaints are filed at the same time. The DOJ will
examine the merits of each case, and then actively work with the State in
question to resolve this issue out-of-court. It is rare for ADA cases to go
to trial, but should the State be found guilty of discrimination in a trial
then, by law, that State will have its Federal wildlife funding revoked. |
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| 3) Move to the Next State -- once the ADA
process has been started in one state, the Coalition members will move to
the next state on our list, and repeat the process. |
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Will This Work?: |
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| Yes -- Recently, a disabled hunter from Colorado
filed an ADA complaint against the State of Colorado because this state
refused to let him use a crossbow during the archery season. As a result of
this one complaint, the Colorado changed their regulations and now allow
disabled hunters to use crossbows in the archery season. One individual made one
state to change their discriminatory practices -- just think what dozens of
individuals could do. |
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How Can I Help?: |
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| The Coalition is always looking for new
individuals who want to join us in our fight for respect. We could use the
help of disabled hunters and the able-bodied. There are 2 ways you can help: |
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| A) Become a Disabled Complainant -- Disabled individuals who are serious about fighting for their rights should join us as complainants. The complaint process is simple and affordable: | ||||||
| 1) Contact The Coalition via
Alliance@disabledrights.org -- we'll answer any questions you
have, and explain to you the time table of our operations. |
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| 2) Compose a formal request for accommodation letter --
we'll help you write this letter, tell you where to send it, and help you
pay for the stamp if necessary. We'll also help you fill out the Coalition's
Universal Medical Form. |
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| 3) Should this request be denied, then you need to file an
official complaint under the ADA which will describe your situation (what
kind of physical disability you have, and why you need a crossbow to
overcome this disability). We'll help you file the small amount of
paperwork involved, and help pay for the stamp if necessary. The Department
of Justice will then forward your complaint over to the Department of
Interior who will handle your case. The DOI will then mail a letter to the
State in question. The State will develop a rebuttal to your complaint
and this rebuttal will be mailed to you. You'll have 10 days to respond to
the rebuttal -- to give your own rebuttal to their rebuttal. Then that's it. The DOI and DOJ will take it from there, investigate the
complaint, and try to seek a peaceful resolution. This process could take
over 12 months to complete -- but hopefully, the large amount of complaints
they receive on this issue will make the Feds act faster. The bottom line
-- to file an ADA complaint you'll have to fill out one complaint form, and
then write one rebuttal letter. Then its just a matter of time (of course,
we'll keep you busy because we'll be moving onto the next State once the
rebuttals are written). |
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| For more details about the Complainant role, please see the
Cases section of the website. >>more>>
If you would like more information, then please
contact us via
Alliance@disabledrights.org |
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| B) Become a Supporter -- If you are
an able-bodied individual, or you are just hesitant to go through the complaint process, then we
can still use your help. At specific times during the complaint process we
like to execute public relations campaigns -- to spread the word of our
cause via the media and Internet. We can always use more help in spreading
the word. |
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| For more details about the Supporter role, please see the
Supporters
Section of the website. >>more>>
If you would like more information, then please
contact us via
Alliance@disabledrights.org
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Need more Information?: |
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| Please email the Coalition at Alliance@disabledrights.org | ||||||
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