[nagdu] My Thoughts and Perspective on the Resolution concerning Ownership

[Marianne Denning]

Marion, you have my full support on the issues you mentioned.  I
believe there is a lot of work to do in educating all of the companies
and organizations you mentioned about our rights as guide dog owners.

On 7/13/15, Marion Gwizdala via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Dear all,
>
>
>
>                 Since I disabled mail delivery while I was at convention, I
> have not read all the messages concerning the resolution for which I was a
> proponent. I have, however, received a number of telephone calls both in
> favor and opposition of the resolution. I would like to offer my
> perspective
> on this issue.
>
>
>
>                 As most of you know, I am in favor of training programs
> transferring unconditional ownership to the consumer upon completion of
> training. As the NAGDU president, I have fielded a number of calls from
> guide dog users who have either been threatened with or have had their dogs
> removed without cause and without due process. The unfortunate response I
> have for them is that there is nothing that can be done to protect their
> rights if they do not own their dogs. I realize that most of you will say
> your training program would never do such a thing without just cause;
> however, the fact is that it happens and you will likely never hear about
> it. It is not up to me to tell you about these cases, as it is protected by
> my ethical code of confidentiality. It is also sadly true that the people
> to
> whom this happens will likely never tell the list either, because they fear
> retaliation in the form of a negative report that could impact their
> application to another program.
>
>
>
>                 The one thing I regret during the consideration of this
> resolution is that I failed to ask for the whole resolution to be read. For
> those who did not attend the convention, with twenty-nine resolutions being
> considered, the chair chose to only read the resolved section of the
> resolution to save time unless someone asked for a reading of the whole
> resolution. I don't know if the results would have been any different but
> there may have at least been a little more awareness of the purpose of the
> resolution. After all, this was my primary purpose in introducing this
> measure.
>
>
>
>                 Though I am disappointed the convention chose to not pass
> this resolution, the other purpose for introducing it was to hear from the
> membership in a democratic forum. As president of this Association, I serve
> at the pleasure of the membership and am charged with representing their
> interests. This is true of each member of the Board of Directors, as well.
> My personal belief is that ownership affords certain protections and will
> always express this opinion; however, my personal agenda is not that of the
> membership. My duty is to express the will of the membership and to be
> their
> voice.
>
>
>
> As for this resolution being introduced again, it may very well be. At this
> time, though, I have no plan to do so. We have a great deal of work to do
> and I am dedicated to the work, not my agenda. There is much more that
> unites us than divides us. We may not agree on the issue of ownership but
> we
> agree we must have the right to full and equal access to those places the
> public is invited and we are creating collaborative relationships with the
> restaurant, lodging, health care, taxicab, and zoo industries to remove the
> barriers we face. I trust you will stand with us as we open the doors to
> full participation in society on terms of equality. In the words of Dr.
> Kenneth Jernigan, "come! Join me on the barricades and we will make it all
> come true!"
>
>
>
> Fraternally yours,
>
>
>
> Marion Gwizdala, President
>
> National Association of Guide Dog Users Inc.
>
> National Federation of the Blind
>
> (813) 626-2789
>
> (888) 624-3841 (Hotline)
>
> President at nagdu.org
>
> http://www.nagdu.org
>
>
>
> High expectations create unlimited potential for the blind!
>
>
>
>
>
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-- 
Marianne Denning, TVI, MA
Teacher of students who are blind or visually impaired
(513) 607-6053