Colorado Joint Braille Resolution

Below is the joint resolution passed by the Colorado House and Senate on March 26th recognizing Louis Braille in general and the Braille coin in particular. Great stuff. I listened to the readings and adoption via streaming, and it was most moving.

First Regular Session
Sixty-seventh General Assembly
STATE OF COLORADO

REVISED SJR09-031
LLS NO. R09-0962.01 Joel Moore

SENATE SPONSORSHIP
Shaffer B.,

HOUSE SPONSORSHIP
Rice,

Senate Committees House Committees

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 09-031
CONCERNING THE CONTINUING IMPORTANCE OF BRAILLE LITERACY
IN THE LIVES OF BLIND CHILDREN AND ADULTS IN COLORADO AND
ACROSS THE NATION, AND, IN CONNECTION THEREWITH,
RECOGNIZING ”NATIONAL BRAILLE READERS ARE LEADERS DAY”.

WHEREAS, Since its invention by Louis Braille, the reading and
writing code for the blind that bears his name has become the accepted
method of reading and writing for the blind the world over; and

WHEREAS, Braille is used to represent not only the alphabets of
most written languages but also mathematical and scientific notation and
the reproduction of musical scores; and

WHEREAS, Braille provides people who are blind with the power
of knowledge, expanding their opportunities and equipping them with the
tools to be productive and imaginative contributors to society; and

WHEREAS, Contrary to popular belief, Braille is not difficult to
learn, nor is reading Braille slower than reading print; and

WHEREAS, While technology has improved the lives of blind
people by facilitating quick access to information, no technology can
replace Braille literacy since literacy is the ability to read and write and
to do both interactively; and

WHEREAS, Despite Braille’s efficiency, versatility, and universal
acceptance by the blind, the rate of Braille literacy in the United States
has declined to the point where only 10 percent of blind children are
learning to read and write Braille; and
WHEREAS, Just as a literacy rate of 10 percent among this
nation’s sighted children would be rightly viewed as a crisis and as cause
for national outrage, the decline in Braille literacy is a crisis, and swift
action must be taken to reverse this dangerous trend; and

WHEREAS, Braille literacy is the key to independence,
productivity, and success for blind people, as evidenced by the fact that,
while 70 percent of the blind are unemployed, 85 percent of those who
are employed use Braille; and

WHEREAS, The United States Congress officially recognized the
importance of Braille by passing the Louis Braille Bicentennial--Braille
Literacy Commemorative Coin Act, authorizing the striking of a United
States silver dollar in commemoration of the two hundredth anniversary
of the birth of Louis Braille; and

WHEREAS, The National Federation of the Blind, the nation’s
oldest and largest organization of blind people and the leading advocate
for Braille literacy, has launched a national ”Braille Readers are Leaders”
campaign to promote awareness of the importance of Braille and the
magnitude of the Braille literacy crisis and to increase the availability of
competent Braille instruction and of Braille reading materials in this
country, with funding for said campaign to come from a portion of the
proceeds of the sale of the Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar; and

WHEREAS, The National Federation of the Blind has today
released a comprehensive report, ”The Braille Literacy Crisis in
America--Facing the Truth, Reversing the Trend, Empowering the Blind”,
and the United States Mint has this day released the Louis Braille
Bicentennial Silver Dollar for purchase by the general public; now,
therefore,

Be It Resolved by the Senate of the Sixty-seventh General Assembly
of the State of Colorado, the House of Representatives concurring herein:

(1) That we, the members of the Colorado General Assembly, do
hereby proclaim March 26, 2009, as National Braille Readers are Leaders
Day, to celebrate the hope, opportunity, and power that literacy in Braille
provides to the blind and to our nation; and

(2) That we call upon all public officials, educators, and citizens

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throughout Colorado and this nation to recognize the importance of Braille in the lives of blind people and to assist the National Federation of the Blind in its efforts to increase instruction in and use of Braille in Colorado and across the United States.

Be ItFurther Resolved, That copies of this Joint Resolution be sent to Governor Bill Ritter, Jr.; the members of the Colorado Congressional delegation; and Scott C. LaBarre, President, National Federation of the Blind of Colorado.

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