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Alliance |
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| This page is designed to provide news on the Alliance's progress. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| June 2004 | May 2004 | December 2003 | Sept 2003 | June 2003 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| April 2004 | November 2003 | August 2003 | May 2003 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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June 2004 |
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6/10/2004 |
Victory in Rhode Island !!! On June 9th, the governor of Rhode signed H7913 into law. This law, for the first time, legalizes crossbows and modified bows for disabled hunters in the State of Rhode Island. In response to this new law, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management has already included new disabled crossbow regulations in their proposed 2004-2005 hunting regulations. For more information, including a copy of the new law, please see the RI Update page. >>more>> | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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6/7/2004 |
Victory in Alaska!!! On June 6th, the Alliance received a letter from the US Fish & Wildlife Service showing that Alaska has responded to our discrimination complaints, and will now allow disabled hunters to use crossbows in the archery-only sections of the state. Disabled hunters will now be able to hunt as equals in 100% of Alaska's territory. Details of the new system are not yet available. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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6/7/2004 |
New
Article. This article, written in 2000 by Dave Baskin, head of the NRA Disabled Shooting
program, describes the problems disabled hunters face in the woods -- mostly
the varying accommodation methods allowed as a disabled hunter moves from
state-to-state. To view this article, please click
here. The article will open in a new window. >>more>> |
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May 2004 |
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5/18/2004 |
Article in New York. Will Elliot, from the Buffalo news in New York,
has written another article on the Alliance and our attempts to legalize
crossbows for disabled persons in NY. To read this article, please click
here. The article will open in a new window. >>more>> |
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April 2004 |
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4/23/04 |
Victory in California!!! On April 22nd,
the California Fish & Game Commission approved regulations that, for the first time, would allow disabled hunters to use a crossbow
during the California archery season. The details of
the new system are not out yet, but the Alliance will be keeping a close eye
to ensure the new system is fair and reasonable. This now leaves only 8 states that do not allow disabled archers to use crossbows. Source: Not available yet |
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4/23/04 |
Important
change to NBEF!!!! The National Bowhunter Education
Foundation has voted to add a crossbow section to their Bowhunter education
courses. Details of the new system are not out yet. This is an important change for disabled crossbow hunters. Currently, if crossbow hunters wish to receive a NBEF certification they must take the course using a vertical bow. Now they may have an opportunity to be safety certified in the accommodation of their choosing. Some states require a NBEF certification to bowhunt in their state. Source: Not available yet. |
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4/16/04 |
Victory
in Washington State!!! On
April 5th, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission approved regulations
that, for the first time, would allow disabled hunters to use a crossbow
during the Washington archery season. The new system will be run by the state's ADA coordinator. The details of the new system are not out yet, but the Alliance will be keeping a close eye to ensure the new system is fair and reasonable. If we disapprove of the new system, we will continue to re-file discrimination complaints until they get it right. This now leaves only 9 states that do not allow disabled archers to use crossbows. Source: http://wdfw.wa.gov/do/newreal/apr0504a.htm |
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March 2004 |
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3/6/04 |
CA Proposal Introduced. The California Department of Fish and Game has listened to our requests for accommodation and has introduced a proposal that would legalize crossbows, modified-bows, mouth-tabs, and body-braces in the upcoming hunting season for disabled hunters. In this proposal, the CA DFG recognizes the fact that these weapons are reasonable accommodations, and also recognizes the fact that these accommodations will have no negative impact in the CA hunting season. For more information on the CA proposal, please click here. >>more>> | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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December 2003 |
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12/21/03 |
Rebuttal
Update. The Alliance has been informed by the DOI that our complaints
have reached the states. But due to the large number of complaints
generated, the DOI is going to give the states 60 days to write up their
defense (not 30 days as previously reported). So, we expect the rebuttal
process to start sometime in February. |
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12/21/03 |
Website Redesign. The website has been redesigned to better organize
the website content. |
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12/21/03 |
Slight Name Change. The Coalition for Disabled Hunter Rights will be
changing its name to the Alliance for Disabled Sportsmen Rights to better
reflect our organization's mission and methods. |
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12/11/03 |
More Media Coverage in NY. Will Elliot from the Buffalo News
has written an article about crossbow Legislation in new York. To
view this article, please click
here. The article will open in a new window. >>more>> |
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November 2003 |
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11/20/03 |
Media Coverage in New York. Bill Conners from the Poughkeepsie
Journal has written an article about Coalition member Jeff Lucas of New
York. This article discusses Jeff's difficulty in bow hunting with his
wheelchair under New York's current anti-crossbow regulations. To view this
article, please
click here. The article will open in a new window.
>>more>> |
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11/16/03 |
Supporters -- Time to Send Support Messages. It is now time for
all of our Supporter members to send a message of support to our
investigator at the USFWS.
Supporters should send the message that crossbows, modified-bows, body
braces and mouth-tabs should all be acceptable and reasonable
accommodation methods for disabled hunters in the archery seasons of
all 50 states. To send your message to the federal government, please
fill out the form on our new Send a
Message page. >>more>> |
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| 11/16/03 |
New Supporters Page. The Coalition's Supporters page has been
updated. The page now includes a web form that can be used to send a
message of support to the federal government. To view the new
Supporters page, please
Send a Message.
>>more>> |
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| 11/16/03 |
New Press Release. The Coalition has sent out another official
press release. This statement gives an update on our progress and
advertises the fact we are asking for messages of support to be sent
the federal government. To view this 11-16-2003 Press Release, please
click here.
>>more>> |
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| 11/16/03 |
Summary of Action. Thus far, Coalition members have filed ADA
complaints against
9
states: Alaska, California, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, New York,
Oregon, Washington, and West Virginia. We're always looking for
new complainants. Folks interested in becoming complainants, should
view the About Us page for more
information. >>more>> |
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October 2003 |
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10/30/03 |
Updated Procedure. Our cases have made it to the US Fish &
Wildlife Service (USFWS). The point person there will be Doug
Gentile—the same man who was the point person with Tom’s original
ADA complaint that he won against Colorado in January 2003. Here is
the ADA complaint procedure we will be using from this point forward:
Your ADA discrimination complaints against states will be emailed
directly to mike_trujillo@ios.doi.gov
(We suggest you set your email program to ask for a Read
Receipt). Mike will immediately forward your complaint to Doug at the
USFWS. Doug will send you an email telling you he has received your
complaint against this state. Eventually, a letter will arrive via the
postal mail telling you your complaint is being investigated by the
USFWS and that the state has been notified of your complaint. The
state will then have 30 days to respond to your complaint. The Feds
will then send you a copy of the state’s response and you will be
told that you have two weeks to respond to the state’s response via
a postal mail address they will furnish for you. (The Coalition will
have all the paperwork you will need for the response posted on the
site) Keep in mind we are dealing with the government. Government
officials let time slip away at times. Tom will take it on himself to
continually call Doug and everyone else to push our issue to the top
of the heap. |
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10/30/03 |
Time to file against Oregon. Folks have received denial letters
from Oregon, so it is now time to file our ADA complaints against this
state. Download the complaint from our website, customize it to match
your situation, and email it directly to the Department of Interior.
Remember, you will now be emailing your complaints to mike_trujillo@ios.doi.gov
. To view the Oregon page, please click
here. >>more>> |
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10/30/03 |
New Research Posted: A 2001 Report from Maine discusses some of the problems that
exist in current disabled hunting regulations. These problems can be
applied to many states, not just Maine. This report discusses
regulations that are too narrowly defined, offering little flexibility
to deal with the special needs of individuals. Excerpts from this report can be found here.
>>more>> |
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10/30/03 |
New Research Posted: A 2000 Report done on behalf of the US
Departments of Interior and Agriculture discusses disabled access on
Federal lands, and is a good indication of the problems that disabled
hunters face in many states. This report discusses such issues as the
lack of concern (low priority) for disabled access to the wilderness,
and why it is incorrect to believe that the ADA does not or should not
cover the issue of wilderness access. This report gives recommendations
specific to disabled hunting including improving access to road gates,
and allowing the crossbow as an accommodation. To view excerpts from
this report, please click here. >>more>> |
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10/21/03 |
Hawaii has crossbows. 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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10/19/03 |
Time to File ADA Complaints Against 3 States. Folks have
received denial letters from Alaska, California, and Montana, so it is
now time to file our ADA Complaints against these states. Download the
complaint from our website, customize it to match your situation, and
email it directly to the Department of Justice. Click here for the
Alaska page, click here for the
California page, and click here for the
Montana page. |
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10/4/03 |
No news per se. It's been a month since our last update,
so we wanted to make a post so everyone knows our effort is very much
alive and well. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has told us that the
process of sending in ADA complaints via email is working very well.
In the next week or so, the DOJ will be handing over all of the cases
to the Department of Interior (DOI), who will investigate this
situation. The DOJ apologized for the time this is taking, and
encourages everyone to be patient. We're still waiting for denial
letters to come in from a few of the states. If you receive your
denial letters, please let us know and we'll move to Stage #2 against
these states. For those of you who are new to this effort, it is never
too late to start the complaint process. It's important that everyone
knows that the ADA process is a lengthy one. There may be weeks and
weeks that go by where no updates are made to this page. This is
normal and expected. Rest assured that the process is working behind
the scenes. |
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September 2003 |
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No News in September | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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August 2003 |
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| 8/27/03 |
Last 5 states. It's time to start Stage #1 on the last 5 states
we have targeted. These states are Rhode Island,
Montana, California,
Alaska, and Hawaii.
Complainants should send off their initial requests for accommodation
letters to these 5 states ASAP. Contact info, background info, and sample
letters can be found on the individual case pages for each state. Links to
these 5 new states, and the 6 states we've sent off to previously, can be
found on the Current Cases section of
the website. >>more>> |
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| 8/25/03 |
Website Updated. All
Coalition case pages have been updated to reflect the new electronic
filing procedure. This should make it easier for you to re-file your old
complaints. |
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8/25/03 |
Great Lakes Region. The Great Lakes Sport Fishing Council has placed
an article about us in their weekly newsletter. To view this article, click
here. The article will open in a new browser window.
>>more>> |
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8/25/03 |
Colorado Coverage. The Boulder County Daily Camera has a short article
about us. To view this article, click
here. The article will open in a new browser window.
>>more>> |
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| 8/21/03 |
Time to File Against Washington. It's time to file your ADA
complaints against the state of Washington. Remember, to use the new
electronic email procedure (see the update below). To view the
Washington case page, please click here.
>>more>> |
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8/19/03 |
New York Article. This article from the Times-Herald Record in New
York does not talk about the Coalition, but does discuss crossbows in New
York. To view this article, click
here. The article will open in a new browser window. >>more>> |
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8/19/03 |
Another Editorial in WV.
Coalition member, Rachael Wilson, got her letter to the editor
published in the WV Dominion Post. To view this article, click
here. The article will open in a new browser window.
>>more>> |
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8/16/03 |
Nice Article in New York.
Reporter Bill Conners of the Poughkeepsie Journal of New York has
written a nice article about the Coalition. To view this article,
click
here. The article will open in a new browser window.
>>more>> |
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8/16/03 |
Editorial in WV. A
citizen from West Virginia who, to the best of our knowledge, has no
affiliation with the Coalition, has written a nice Editorial (Letter to
the Editor) in the Charleston Gazette. To view this editorial, please
click here. The editorial will open in a new window.
>>more>> |
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8/16/03 |
National ADA Coverage. A
effort has been picked up by the Thompson Publishing Group, a national
organization which researches, monitors, interprets, and reports on ADA
regulations. They have put a very short article on their website. In
addition, our story will likely appear in the next update of their "ADA
Compliance Guide". To view this short article,
click here. This article will open in a new browser window.
>>more>> |
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8/15/03 |
Another article in WV.
The Dominion Post in West Virginia has printed another article. To
view this article, click
here. |
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8/13/03 |
Watch for us on TV.
Coalition member, Peter L. Cuffaro, will be appearing on two TV News
interviews to discuss the crossbow situation in West Virginia. The two
News sources are WCHS-TV
8 out of Charleston and WOAY-TV
4 out of Oak Hill. |
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8/12/03 |
A New Article in WV.
Michelle Blum, a reporter for the Wheeling News-Register, has written
a new article on the Coalition. To view this article, please click
here. The article will open in a new browser window. >>more>> |
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8/11/03 |
New Media Coverage Today:
Our story was picked up on the AP Wire and is now spreading across the
country. The following media sources wrote articles about us today.
Click on the "View Article" links to view the article. Article will open
in a new browser window.
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8/10/03 |
Media Coverage in West
Virginia. John Heys, a reporter for the West Virginia Sunday
Gazette-Mail has written an article about the Coalition. To view this
article, please
click here. Article will open up in a new window.
>>more>> |
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| 8/8/03 |
Time to file ADA Complaints
against New Mexico. Those complainants that have received denials from
New Mexico, should now send ADA complaints to the Federal government. For
more information please click here.
>>more>> |
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| 8/5/03 |
Time to file ADA Complaints
against Nevada. Those complainants that have received denials from
Nevada, should now send ADA complaints to the Federal government. For more
information please click here.
>>more>> |
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| 8/5/03 |
Summary of Action. Thus far,
Coalition members have filed ADA complaints against West Virginia, New York,
Nevada, New Mexico, and Washington. Accommodation letters have also been
sent out to Oregon. Complainants, or folks interesting in becoming
complainants, should view the About Us section for more information.
>>more>> |
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| 8/1/03 |
Florida Update. A few months
ago, the Coalition reported that Florida was going to start offering
non-resident hunters the crossbow accommodation. Today, Florida finally
updated their website with the new crossbow application. We would like to
thank the Florida Fish & Wildlife for their cooperation in this manner. To
download the Florida resident/nonresident crossbow application, please
click
here.
>>more>>
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July 2003 |
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7/28/03 |
Media Coverage. Bob
Mottram has written an article about the Coalition for The News
Tribune in Washington State. To view this article, please
click here (link will open in a new window). >>more>> |
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7/18/03 |
Time to file ADA Complaints against
New York. Those complainants that have received denials from New York, should now send ADA complaints to the Federal government.
For more information please click here.
>>more> |
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June 2003 |
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| 6/23/03 |
Time to move on Washington.
Complainants should start sending their accommodation request letters to the
State of Washington. For more information on the Washington case, please click
here. |
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| 6/23/03 |
Time to move on Oregon.
Complainants should start sending their accommodation request letters to the
State of Oregon. For more information on the Oregon case, please click
here. |
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| 6/23/03 |
Time to move on New Mexico.
Complainants should start sending their accommodation request letters to the
State of New Mexico. For more information on the New Mexico case, please click
here. |
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| 6/4/03 |
Time to file ADA Complaints
against West Virginia. Those complainants that have received denials
from West Virginia, should now send ADA complaints to the Federal
government. For more information please click
here. >>more>> |
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May 2003 |
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| 5/26/03 |
Universal Medical Form is Ready
for Download.
The Coalition is constantly trying to refine and improve upon our complaint
process. We have created a new Universal Medical Form
which should be attached to your request for accommodation letter. You and
your doctor will use this form to describe your disability. Complainants
should visit their doctor one time to have this form filled out, and then
make multiple copies of the form to be mailed to the various states we're
complaining against. For more information about the Universal Medial Form.
please click here. >>more>> |
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| 5/22/03 |
Time to move on Nevada.
Complainants should start sending their accommodation request letters to the
State of Nevada. For more information on the Nevada case, please click
here. |
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| 5/18/03 |
Time to move on New York.
Complainants should start sending their accommodation request letters to the
State of New York. For more information on the New York case,
please click
here. |
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| 5/1/03 |
West Virginia.
New members just now joining are encourage to send their letters off now.
It's never too late to begin the process, and a trickling in of letters
may actually help our cause. For more information about the West Virginia
Case, please click here. >>more>> |
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