Veteran’s Day at the Range
By John Joines, NRA Range Services Specialist
Photo by Vanessa Warner
I was able to get away from work this morning, so I visited my local shooting range. What did I find? A group of handicapped veterans was trying to use the facility, so I went over to offer assistance—they said they didn’t want to be a bother. I told them I was willing to listen to see how I could help.
At this range there is no concrete walkway down to the target line on the rifle or pistol ranges. In a muddy field, wheelchairs don’t move well and the ends of crutches get stuck in the mud. Let’s not stop here, there’s more.
On the pistol range, the club put down gravel from the firing line to the target line. The stone is so large, however, wheelchairs will not roll over it without a major workout. Some of these veterans didn’t have that much strength left. At the firing line, the shooting bench has a fixed stool. They can’t get close enough to the table to use it properly, so getting the stability needed for sighting-in or using their rifle is nearly impossible.
I went to the clubhouse. For any of them to enter, someone would have to carry them up the stairs along with the wheelchair. The entrance to the bathroom is through a 2 -foot, 6-inch door. A wheelchair can’t pass through, and if you do manage to get one in, there is no room for it to turn around.
When I talked with the club president his answer was there is another facility 30 miles down the road with all they amenities they need. “Tell them to go down there and quit bothering us,” was the attitude I heard. Cost, labor and a variety of excuses were heaped on.
Then he asked me, “Why do you care?”
That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I told him these are the men who faced death to protect our freedom and to ensure we had the right to even own a firearm. “How dare you to put yourself up on a pedestal and complain about these veterans that fought in America’s wars,” I told him. “Some came back handicapped. Others never came back. They were protecting those very freedoms you take for granted and to ensure your family and this country remain safe. You ought to get down on your knees and give thanks that America still has men and women willing to die for what they believe is right.”
I told him if the club doesn’t have any money, have a fundraiser. Apply for a grant or raise your dues for a special project and reduce them when it is completed? If your club is a 501 C-3 organization, you can solicit donations for a worthwhile project like this. I challenged him to stop, gather all these great individuals together and have a meeting with the board of directors to see if a reasonable accommodation could be reached so these veterans could enjoy their hobby.
28 CFR Part 36, revised July 1, 1994, is the handicap code. Whether you like it or not, by law you have to provide reasonable accommodation at the firing line, provide parking spaces with easy access to the clubhouse, the range and reasonable accommodation to the targets. Even if you may be exempt from making some of these changes, you are morally obligated to do what is right. You might be surprised how this will be perceived in the shooting community and the positive help and support that come out of your efforts.
Take the phrase “I can’t” out of your vocabulary and replace it with “I will.”
For information about obtaining grant funding to assist with these facility improvements, visit NRA Range Service’s http://www.nrahq.org/shootingrange/grants.asp or call (877) 672-7264.