[gui-talk] National Federation of the Blind and BlindBusinessOwner File Complaint with Small Business Administration
Mike Freeman
k7uij at panix.com
Sat Jul 25 01:32:48 UTC 2009
I agree with you. However, I contend that such legislation can never be
crafted. In my view, the only way to mandate enforceable standards is to
require that web sites and the like conform to specific standards and
this of necessity freezes web design into a mold. Such requirements
stand little chance of passage.
Mike
----- Original Message -----
From: "Wayne Merritt" <wcmerritt at gmail.com>
To: "NFBnet GUI Talk Mailing List" <gui-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, July 24, 2009 11:25 AM
Subject: Re: [gui-talk] National Federation of the Blind and
BlindBusinessOwner File Complaint with Small Business Administration
Until we get some good legislation passed which advocates and promotes
web accessibility as part of a website's design, or strengthen the
legislation we now have for web accessibility, I think we're going to
continue to see inacessible sites and suits filed against inaccessible
sites.
Jmt,
Wayne
On 7/23/09, Sahar Husseini <sahar at inebraska.com> wrote:
> If the government is going to have laws about accessibility, it needs
> to
> follow the laws it sets for everyone else. Hmm, but then again, to me
> that
> just makes sense. It's not the money that's the issue. It's bringing
> attention to it and making it happen.
>
> Warm regards,
> Sahar Husseini
> For hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind jewelry, Please visit my Website at
> www.saharscreations.com
> And remember, "Obstacles don't have to stop you.
> If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up.
> Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it."
> Michael Jordan
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Gerald Levy
> To: NFBnet GUI Talk Mailing List
> Sent: Thursday, July 23, 2009 6:17 AM
> Subject: Re: [gui-talk] National Federation of the Blind and Blind
> BusinessOwner File Complaint with Small Business Administration
>
>
>
> If I had a dollar for every government site that was inaccessible, I
> would
> be richer than Bill Gates. Have you ever tried navigating the IRS
> or
> Medicare web sites? The SBA site is just the tip of the iceberg.
>
> Gerald
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "albert griffith" <albertgriffith at sbcglobal.net>
> To: "'NFBnet GUI Talk Mailing List'" <gui-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Thursday, July 23, 2009 6:47 AM
> Subject: Re: [gui-talk] National Federation of the Blind and Blind
> BusinessOwner File Complaint with Small Business Administration
>
>
> > I'm totally in favor of his complaint. There's no good reason for
> sites
> > run
> > by governmental agencies not being totally accessible.
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: gui-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org
> [mailto:gui-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
> On
> > Behalf Of Freeh, Jessica (by way of David Andrews
> <dandrews at visi.com>)
> > Sent: Thursday, July 23, 2009 4:43 AM
> > To: david.andrews at nfbnet.org
> > Subject: [gui-talk] National Federation of the Blind and Blind
> Business
> > Owner File Complaint with Small Business Administration
> >
> >
> >
> > FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
> >
> >
> >
> > CONTACT:
> >
> > Chris Danielsen
> >
> > Director of Public Relations
> >
> > National Federation of the Blind
> >
> > (410) 659-9314, extension 2330
> >
> > (410) 262-1281 (Cell)
> >
> > cdanielsen at nfb.org
> >
> >
> >
> > National Federation of the Blind and Blind Business Owner
> > File Complaint with Small Business Administration
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > SBA's Inaccessible Web Site Discriminates Against the Blind
> >
> >
> >
> > Baltimore, Maryland (July 22, 2009): The National Federation of
> the
> > Blind, the nation's oldest and largest organization of blind
> people
> > and the leading advocate for equal access by the blind to
> information
> > technology, and Virgil Stinnett, a blind business owner from
> > Honolulu, Hawaii, filed an administrative complaint today with the
> > Small Business Administration (SBA). The complaint asserts that
> the
> > SBA's Web site violates Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act
> because
> > it is inaccessible to blind people who use text-to-speech screen
> > access technology or Braille displays to access information on the
> > Internet. Because of the inaccessibility of the SBA Web site,
> blind
> > people cannot fill out forms on the site or take online courses
> > offered by the SBA. Mr. Stinnett was unable to apply for
> > certification under Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act because
> of
> > the inaccessibility of the Web site. Section 8(a) certification
> > would provide Mr. Stinnett's business with access to federal and
> > private procurement markets.
> >
> >
> >
> > Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the
> Blind,
> > said: "Blind Americans have the same dreams, the same goals, and
> the
> > same entrepreneurial spirit as all other Americans. If we are to
> > have equal access to the tools and techniques needed to be
> effective
> > business owners and to compete on terms of equality with our
> sighted
> > peers, we must have equal access to the resources offered on the
> SBA
> > Web site and other government sites. The National Federation of
> the
> > Blind demands equality for blind business owners and will tolerate
> > nothing less."
> >
> >
> >
> > Virgil Stinnett, owner of Good News HI, a business providing
> military
> > dining services, said: "As a blind entrepreneur, access to the SBA
> > Web site is critical in order for me to use its programs and
> services
> > and expand my business. The fact that I could not access the Web
> > site has cost me time and resources that I would not have needed
> to
> > expend if I had been able to use the site like everyone else. I
> hope
> > the action we are taking today will prompt the SBA to take
> immediate
> > steps so that all Americans, blind and sighted, have equal access
> to
> > the programs, training, and resources that it provides."
> >
> >
> >
> > Complainants are represented by attorneys Daniel F. Goldstein and
> > Allison L. Harper of Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP, <?xml:namespace
> > prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
> />120
> > E. Baltimore Street, Suite 1700, Baltimore, MD 21202, (410)
> 962-1030,
> > fax: (410) 385-0869, <mailto:dfg at browngold.com>dfg at browngold.com,
> > <mailto:ah at browngold.com>ah at browngold.com,
> > <http://www.browngold.com/>www.browngold.com.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ###
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--
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http://wayneism.blogspot.com
My websites:
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www.whitecaneday.org
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