Advocacy Archives - Blind LGBT Pride International

International LGBT organization urges Senate to reject Jeff Sessions nomination for Attorney General

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

International LGBT organization urges Senate to reject Jeff Sessions nomination for Attorney General

Contact: Gabriel Lopez
Company: Blind LGBT Pride International
Phone: (786) 547-5465
Email: info@blind-lgbt-pride.org
URL: http://blindlgbtpride.org

Austin, Tx – Blind LGBT Pride International (BPI) the only Civil Rights and Advocacy organization representing LGBT individuals who are blind and vision impaired, today announced its opposition to the nomination of Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions as the next U.S. attorney general.

“We believe that any president should have broad latitude in appointments. However, given the extraordinary role the attorney general has over so many issues fundamentally impacting the lives of our community, Sessions’ egregious track record on those issues makes it impossible for us to support this nomination,” stated BPI President Will Burley.

“Throughout his career, he has been a staunch opponent of progress for historically disenfranchised groups, whether it’s African-Americans, people with disabilities, Latinos, LGBT Americans, or women” remarked Burley. Sessions record is replete with actions and stated positions which we find in complete opposition to the freedoms and well being of people with disabilities who are LGBT, including: in May of 2000, his taking to the Senate floor in opposition to the reauthorization of IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), the Federal law which mandates the integration of children with disabilities into public schools; citing the law as the reason that U.S. public schools were failing, referring to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which contains provisions relevant to the voting rights of people with disabilities, as a “piece of intrusive legislation”; opposing both the 2006 and 2013 bipartisan immigration reform bills and calling for an end to birthright citizenship; his opposition to the renewal of the Violence Against Women Act, in 2000 and 2009; voting against measures expanding hate crime legislation to include sexual orientation; He dubbed the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision legalizing same-sex marriage an “effort to secularize, by force and intimidation”, , and referring to Civil rights organizations as “Communist-inspired” and “un-American.” “The list goes on and on”,commented Burley.

“It is exceedingly disappointing, to say the least, that the newly elected President has chosen someone who is at best indifferent, and at worst actively antagonistic toward an overwhelming portion of the country’s population. For such a crucial post, We urge the Senate to soundly reject his nomination,” concluded Burley.

For more information regarding Blind LGBT Pride International’s stance on the nomination of Sen. Jeff sessions, please contact the Legislative and Advocacy chair, Don Brown by email at advocacy@blind-lgbt-pride.org.

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Blind LGBT pride International, a 501c(3) organization founded in 1996 has a goal to offer advocacy, education, programs, alliances and support for those who are either blind or vision impaired and who happen to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or allies. For more information, please visit http://blindlgbtpride.org.

Ideas for Your Holiday List

By: Gabriel Lopez

As is customary during the Holiday Season, we make a list of those who will be the happy recipients of gifts from us. We hope you have saved room for one more name in your list. Don’t panic- it won’t cost you any extra dollars; actually, it should save you some in the long run! Just think of all the beautiful things you have received from your friends and family members who have already claimed a spot in your Holiday list. Now think of this additional friend- she has given you open doors, opportunities, liberty, freedom, equality, inclusion, aid in times of need, and she has always been ready to cover your basics so that you can move on to bigger and better things. Have you guessed her name yet?

Some times we tend to take America for granted, and we forget the greatest and noblest principles our nation stands for. However, this end-of-year is different. We are witnessing how the incoming administration is filling each cabinet position with persons who pose a clear threat to those principles that constitute rights and protections for all of us. The anti-LGBT position of our future cabinet is clear. The civil rights that have resulted after the blood and tenacity of many heroes is now at risk. Moreover, the protections that have helped the disabled community level the playing field are being attacked. All of these rights and protections are gifts that, for decades, we have received from our beloved America.

From the appointment of a white supremacist to one of the highest positions in the White House, to the selection of a blatantly racist character for the position of Attorney General. The second in command, being the most fearsome enemy of the LGBT community in the United States. Does this sound like our country? Do you think these kind of choices represent the values that have already made America great for centuries? If you disagree, then it is time to take matters into your own hands. Our great nation has already gifted us with so much, and it is time we give back. We must stand up and defend the principles and values that constitute the building blocks of our society.

Starting this Holiday Season, and moving forward, during the next four years, we must shower America with gifts. Let’s give our nation the gift of our time during which we should follow every single move attempted by our future government. Consider exerting your democratic rights by contacting your representatives and demanding from them they make the decisions that best align with your values. Show your courage on behalf of your nation by being vigilant and ready to act if you feel any American principle being threatened. Consider sharing your talents with any progressive organization of your choice. While we hope you can relate with this proposed Holiday list, we would like to invite you to add more to the list and to share your gift ideas with us, with your friends and family members, with your neighbors, with your coworkers and colleagues, with your social media contacts, and even with a stranger in the bus stop. Let’s give our America the gift of making sure we remain the great nation we have always been!

BLIND LGBT PRIDE INTERNATIONAL (BPI) PRESENTS TRANS 101

In observance of Transgender Day of Rememberence (TDOR), , BPI invites all to join it’s monthly Info-Share Session, at 3 PM PDT, 5 PM CDT and 6 PM EDT on Sunday, November 13, 2016.

RitaDunn will present an overview of issues and concerns facing the Transgender community and their families.

To participate in the teleconference call 218-895-3779 and enter code 2012#.

TDOR is an annual observance on November 20 that honors the memory of those whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence., Additionally, during the week of November 14-20, individuals and organizations around the country participate in Transgender Awareness Week to help raise the visibility of transgender and gender non-conforming people and address the issues these communities face.

TDOR was started by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith as a vigil to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998. The vigil commemorated all the transgender people lost to violence that year and began an important memorial that has become the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance.

“The Transgender Day of Remembrance seeks to highlight the losses we face due to anti-transgender bigotry and violence. I am no stranger to the need to fight for our rights, and the right to simply exist is first and foremost. With so many seeking to erase transgender people — sometimes in the most brutal ways possible — it is vitally important that those we lose are remembered, and that we continue to fight for justice.” – Transgender Day of Remembrance founder Gwendolyn Ann Smith

Blind Pride Walks in Las Vegas…Say What?!

BPI is walking in Las Vegas to raise money for the American Council of the Blind (ACB) and BPI! Yes, we’re taking advantage of this year’s innovation to the ACB Walk fundraising, and donating half of our donations to Blind LGBT Pride International! Both of these organizations are doing great work, and could very well use more funds to do even more great work!

Recently, at the national level, we’ve finally gotten the Treasury to make the next generation of paper currency tactilely identifiable for us, we’ve made some kind of noise mandatory so we all can hear a “quiet car” coming, and we’ve got the government working on medication labels that will allow us to know what and when a prescription drug should be taken. Things we are still working on: getting Medicare to pay for some of the expensive equipment we need to be able to live independently such as “reading machines”, making sure multi disabled kids are getting the skills needed to be educated and prepared for living and working independently to the extent possible, and working to reduce the 70 percent unemployment rate among blind and visually impaired people. Believe it or not, there’s still a lot to do.

Here’s how you can participate:

1. Sign up with the Blind Pride team, walk in Las Vegas or “virtually” anywhere on July 13, and raise money from your friends and family. (Go to acb.org and follow the link to the Brenda Dillon Memorial Walk to register under the Blind Pride team.

2. Donate to ACB and BPI by credit card online by going to https://walk.acb.org/donation#main-content, or by sending a check payable to ACB to :

American Council of the Blind

6300 Shingle Creek Parkway, Suite 195

Brooklyn Center, MN 55430

(please be sure to indicate that the check is for the Walk, and that President Guillermo Robles is the solicitor on the Blind Pride team)

For further questions, please visit our contact page at http://blindlgbtpride.org/contact and choose to write the President.

Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy Act

Legislative Imperative

The Issue

Since 1975, Public Law 94-142, now the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), has revolutionized educational opportunity for all children and youth with disabilities. However, without key improvements, our national special education system cannot fully keep IDEA’s promise of a truly appropriate education for students who are blind or visually impaired. H.R. 4040, The Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy Act, is intended to do just that, to improve the delivery of appropriate special education and related services to all students who are blind or visually impaired and deaf or hard of hearing, including students who may have additional disabilities. Once enacted, the legislation will ensure that properly designed and individually tailored services are in fact provided, meeting the unique learning needs of students who are blind or visually impaired, and that the educators who serve them are prepared and supported to do their jobs well, based on evidence-driven best practice.

Strategy

During the next two years, the U.S. Congress may review and amend IDEA as part of Congress’ periodic reauthorization of the law. The Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy Act can be passed by Congress at any time in advance of IDEA reauthorization, or it can be incorporated, in whole or in part, into reauthorization itself.

Legislative Proposal

ACB and BPI urge the U.S. House of Representatives to promptly pass H.R. 4040, The Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy Act. This legislation will:

Ensure that every student with vision loss is properly identified regardless of formal disability category or classification so that all students who are blind or visually impaired, including those with additional disabilities, are counted and properly served.
Expand knowledge about the scope and quality of special education and related services provided to students who are blind or visually impaired through refined data collection that tracks all students with vision loss, regardless of formal disability category or classification.
Expect states to conduct strategic planning, and commit such planning to writing, to guarantee that all students who are blind or visually impaired within each state receive all specialized instruction and services needed by students with vision loss provided by properly trained personnel.

Clarify that proper evaluation of students who are blind or visually impaired includes evaluation for students’ needs for instruction in communication and productivity (including braille instruction and assistive technology proficiency inclusive of low-vision devices where appropriate); self-sufficiency and interaction (including orientation and mobility, self-determination, sensory efficiency, socialization, recreation and fitness, and independent living skills); and age-appropriate career education. Such instruction and services constitute the Expanded Core Curriculum, the body of services which teachers of students with visual impairments and related professions are expertly trained to provide.
Ramp up U.S. Department of Education responsibilities to monitor and report on states’ compliance with their obligations with respect to instruction and services specifically provided to students who are blind or visually impaired.
Assist parents and educators of students who are blind or visually impaired through regular and up-to-date written policy guidance from the U.S. Department of Education.
Establish a national collaborative organizational resource, the Anne Sullivan Macy Center on Vision Loss and Educational Excellence, to proliferate evidence-based practices in the education of students who are blind or visually impaired, to keep special educators current with the latest instructional methods, and to supplement state and local educational agency provision of the instruction and services constituting the Expanded Core Curriculum.

Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

Democrats

Tom Harkin (D-IA)

Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD)

Patty Murray (D-WA)

Bernard Sanders (I-VT)

Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-PA)

Kay R. Hagan (D-NC)

Al Franken (D-MN)

Michael F. Bennet (D-CO)

Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)

Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)

Christopher S. Murphy (D-CT)

Elizabeth Warren (D-MD)

Republicans

Lamar Alexander (R-TN)

Michael B. Enzi (R-WY)

Richard Burr (R-NC)

Johnny Isakson (R-GA)

Rand Paul (R-KY)

Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT)

Pat Roberts (RKS)

Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)

Mark Kirk (R-IL)

Tim Scott (R-SC)

House Committee on Education and the Workforce

Republicans

John Kline (R-MN), Chairman

Thomas E. Petri (R-WI)

Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA)

Joe Wilson (R-SC)

Virginia Foxx (R-NC)

Tom Price (R-GA)

Kenny Marchant (R-TX)

Duncan Hunter (R-CA)

David P. Roe (R-TN)

Glenn Thompson (R-PA)

Tim Walberg (R-MI)

Matt Salmon (R-AZ)

Brett Guthrie (R-KY)

Scott DesJarlais (R-TN)

Todd Rokita (R-IN)

Larry Bucshon (R-IN)

Trey Gowdy (R-SC)

Lou Barletta (R-PA)

Joseph J. Heck (R-NV)

Susan W. Brooks (R-IN)

Richard Hudson (R-NC)

Luke Messer (R-IN)

Democrats

George Miller (D-CA), Senior Democratic Member

Robert E. Andrews (D-NJ)

Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA)

Rubén Hinojosa (D-TX)

Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY)

John F. Tierney (D-MA)

Rush Holt (D-NJ)

Susan A. Davis (D-CA)

Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ)

Timothy H. Bishop (D-NY)

David Loebsack (D-IA)

Joe Courtney (D-CT)

Marcia L. Fudge (D-OH)

Jared Polis (D-CO)

Gregorio Sablan (D-Northern Mariana Islands)

Frederica S. Wilson (D-FL)

Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR)

Mark Pocan (D-WI)

Seminar: Medicare Coverage of Low Vision Devices

YOU’RE INVITED!

Making it Clearer: Medicare Coverage of Low Vision Devices Pending Legislation, Policy Implications, and What You Can Do About It

A Free Teleseminar Jointly Hosted by:

The American Foundation for the Blind

and

The American Council of the Blind

Wednesday, March 12, 2014, 3:00 p.m., Eastern

***Sponsored by HumanWare***

For further information, contact:

Mark Richert, Esq.

Director, Public Policy, AFB

(202) 469-6833

MRichert@afb.net

You are invited to participate in a free national teleseminar jointly hosted by ACB and AFB to learn about recent activities in the U.S. Congress to promote Medicare coverage of low vision devices. We are grateful to HumanWare, www.HumanWare.com, a global leader in low vision and other assistive technologies, for their gracious support which is making this teleseminar possible.

There is no need to register or RSVP for this free teleseminar. To join the call, simply dial the toll-free number below at least ten minutes prior to the March 12, 3pm Eastern, start time. Dial:

1-866-939-3921

Tell the operator that you are joining the “low vision devices” call.

We look forward to a lively discussion with all who are interested in advancing the cause of Medicare coverage for low vision devices and other assistive technologies. During the teleseminar, topics to be covered will include pending legislation in Congress, the array of policy implications of a permanent change in the Medicare program, and how advocates can participate in the policy process.

Background

For decades, the vision loss community has been advocating for Medicare’s coverage of assistive technologies, particularly low vision devices. Currently, Medicare will not pay for any device that happens to use a lens, regardless of whether such device incorporates any other features. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency responsible for the management of Medicare, has ruled that devices, such as low vision devices, that use a lens are excluded from coverage just as are eye glasses or contact lenses except in very narrow circumstances.

Now, for the first time, federal legislation would begin to change this unacceptable national policy by establishing a nationwide Medicare demonstration project to evaluate the fiscal impact of a permanent change in Medicare coverage to pay for low vision devices. The legislation, H.R. 3749, introduced by Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), would initiate a five-year demonstration project that would put low vision devices in the hands of Medicare beneficiaries who, after a clinical evaluation by an ophthalmologist or optometrist, can benefit from a low vision device and for whom such devices are medically necessary. The legislation is careful to require that the demonstration project be genuinely national in scope and is explicitly designed to yield reliable data and meaningful results. Once the legislation is enacted and the demonstration project is successfully completed, Congress will have significantly richer data upon which to consider changes to the Medicare program to make coverage of low vision devices, especially the most costly devices, a permanent feature of the program. Precisely how many individuals will receive low vision devices and how many physicians across the country will participate in the demo project will need to be determined by CMS, working in consultation with stakeholder groups, as it develops and implements the project. The legislation makes $12.5 million available for the project over five years.

Advocates are encouraged to contact your members of the United States Congress.