http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyid=2006 -12-12T154047Z_01_N11175774_RTRUKOC_0_US-BLIND-HUNTERS.xml
Lawmaker aims to allow the blind to hunt
Tue Dec 12, 2006 10:40am ET
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - A Texas lawmaker is aiming to allow the blind to hunt. Texas State Representative Edmund Kuempel has introduced a measure that would allow blind people to hunt any game that sighted people can currently pursue.
He hopes it will be passed after the legislature reconvenes in January though he does not expect it to come into affect until 2008.
"This opens up the fun of hunting to additional people, and I think that's great," Kuempel told Reuters.
The bill may find little resistance in Texas, where politicians of all stripes endorse hunting, which is wildly popular in the state.
Under the bill, blind hunters would be required to have a sighted hunter with them and would be allowed to use laser sights and other devices that are currently not allowed.
"A blind person can shoot a rifle by mounting an offset pistol scope on the side of the rifle instead of on top," said Terry Erwin, the Austin-based Hunter Education Coordinator with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
"This allows their companion behind them to peer over their shoulder and help them sight it, but the blind person can pull the trigger," he told Reuters.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.