[Ohio-Talk] EXT: Fw: Including provisions to prohibit blindness from being used to deny or limit care of a minor in the 2021 Budget

Sat Apr 17 13:54:12 UTC 2021

Ryan, that is so very great.

On Fri, Apr 16, 2021 at 5:27 PM ryan sima via Ohio-Talk <
ohio-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:

>
> Hello all,
> A couple of weeks ago, I wrote the letter to my local representative and
> senator that Todd sent out, and I got a wonderful response I wanted to
> share. I will be sure to send an invite to our May Cuyahoga County chapter
> meeting. I hope others have sent the letter and received similar responses.
>
> Ryan    ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: Rep14 at ohiohouse.gov <
> rep14 at ohiohouse.gov>To: 'ryan sima' <ryansima at att.net>Sent: Friday, April
> 16, 2021, 04:57:21 PM EDTSubject: RE: Including provisions to prohibit
> blindness from being used to deny or limit care of a minor in the 2021
> Budget
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> Dear Ryan,
>
>
>
> Thank you for taking the time to contact my office. Your feedback allows
> me to better represent you in the Ohio Statehouse, and your willingness to
> speak out makes our democracy work by providing the catalyst for real
> change.
>
>
>
> I am so grateful for your advocacy on this important issue, and I am
> supportive of prohibiting blindness from being used to deny or limit care
> of a minor. It is so disappointing that, even today, blindness has been
> used as the sole determining factor in making decision about child custody
> and visitation. Blind individuals deserve to be and are just as capable of
> being parents as those who are not blind. I voted in favor of this
> legislation in the last General Assembly, and I will do everything in my
> power to get this over the finish line in this General Assembly.
>
>
>
> Thanks again for reaching out. Your active participation is an important
> part of making government work for the people. Please don’t hesitate to
> call or email anytime that I might be of service.
>
>
>
> All the best,
>
>
>
> Bride Rose Sweeney
>
> State Representative
>
> 14th Ohio House District
>
> 77 S. High Street – 10th Floor
>
> Columbus, OH 43215
>
> (614) 466-3350
>
> Rep14 at ohiohouse.gov
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Website |Newsletter | Facebook | Twitter
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ryan sima <ryansima at att.net>
> Sent: Friday, April 2, 2021 12:34 AM
> To: Rep14 <Rep14 at ohiohouse.gov>
> Subject: Including provisions to prohibit blindness from being used to
> deny or limit care of a minor in the 2021 Budget
>
>
>
> Dear Representative Sweeney,
>
>
>
> I am a constituent in your district, and a member of the National
> Federation of the Blind of Ohio. The National Federation of the Blind of
> Ohio, Ohio’s largest and oldest organization representing Ohio’s Blind
> citizens, proposed H.B. 188 in the 2019-20 legislative session.   I am
> writing to ask you to support including H.B. 188’s language in the 2021
> Budget
>
>
>
> H.B. 188 would prohibit a person’s blindness from being used as the sole
> basis to deny or limit custody, parenting time, visitation, adoption, or
> service as a guardian or foster caregiver, of a minor child. Unfortunately,
> the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio continues to encounter
> situations where blindness has been used as the sole determining factor in
> making decisions regarding child custody and visitation. Consequently, The
> National Federation of the Blind of Ohio believes that passage of
> provisions prohibiting the use of blindness as a sole determining factor in
> these situations is essential for protecting the rights of Blind parents
> and caregivers, and the rights of the children impacted by these decisions.
>
>
>
> I personally feel this is an extremely important issue because I am
> completely blind and would like to adopt or foster visually impaired people
> in the future. I also know of blind people who have been turned down
> custody of their children, and would not like this to happen to me because
> of my blindness if I have my own children.
>
>
>
> Last year, H.B. 188 received strong bipartisan support in the House. H.B.
> 188 had two primary Sponsors Representative Erica Crawley (D-26), and
> Representative Jon Cross (R-83). At the time H.B. 188 was approved by the
> House, the legislation had 48 cosponsors. In addition, the bipartisan
> support for H.B. 188 was so strong that the legislation passed out of
> Committee on a 13-0 vote and was approved by the House on a 93-0 vote.
> Unfortunately, there was insufficient time last year for H.B. 188 to be
> considered by the Senate. At the time H.B. 188 was passed by the House the
> Legislative Service Commission reported that the legislation would only
> result “minimal cost…”.
>
>
>
> I and the National Federation of the Blind are now asking that the
> provisions of H.B. 188 from the 2019-20 legislative session be included in
> the 2021 Budget to ensure that the rights of blind parents and caregivers
> and the minor children they care for are protected as expeditiously as
> possible.
>
>
>
> Please do not hesitate to contact the National Federation of the Blind of
> Ohio if you have questions regarding this proposal. You can contact our
> Legislative Director Eric Duffy atpeduffy63 at gmail.com or at 614-377-9877.
>
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
>
>
> Ryan Sima
>
> 8714, Morton Avenue, 44144
> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/8714,+Morton+Avenue,+44144?entry=gmail&source=g>
>
> 216-470-1304
>
> ryansima at att.net
>
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