The E-Sylum:  Volume 10, Number 48, November 25, 2007, Article 22

JUDGE CONSIDERS SUIT ADVOCATING BLIND-FRIENDLY CHANGES TO U.S. PAPER MONEY

[An Associated Press article this week provided an update
on the suit on behalf of the blind seeking changes to U.S.
paper money.  Here are some excerpts.  -Editor]

A federal appeals court seems troubled that blind people
are unable to distinguish between a $50 bill and a $1 bill,
but judges appeared reluctant Monday to force a redesign of
U.S. currency.

The case erupted last year when a judge said the government
discriminated against the blind by keeping bills the same
color, shape and texture. He gave the Treasury Department
just days to begin solving the problem, but changes have been
put on hold while appeals play out.

Judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
Circuit did not rule immediately, but they seemed wary of the
consequences.

"Where does this stop?" asked Judge A. Raymond Randolph. Are
postage stamps illegal? Government Web sites? When mail
carriers leave handwritten notes on front doors, are they
discriminating against blind people?

"Congress has had many opportunities to do exactly what
you're asking us to do and they said 'No,'" Judge Thomas B.
Griffith said. "What's keeping us from seeing this as simply
an end run on the political process?"

The issue is divisive even among advocacy groups. Scott C.
LaBarre, an attorney for the National Federation of the Blind,
sided in court with the government rather than with the American
Council of the Blind. LaBarre, who is blind, said there are
more important issues facing blind people.

"No regulation can make a blind person see," he said. "No
law can make me see the bill, see the postage stamp or see
the federal building."

To read the complete article, see:
Full Story

  Wayne Homren, Editor

	coinbooks.org Web

The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization 
promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.

To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor 
at this address: whomren@coinlibrary.com

To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum