U.S. State Park Bans Blind Woman For Evangelism
By Stefan J. Bos, Special Correspondent Worthy News
(Worthy News) – Authorities in the U.S. state of Rhode Island have banned a blind woman from a public park and library for speaking about her faith in Christ, her lawyers confirmed Wednesday.
In the legal complaint seen by Worthy News, Gail Blair, 63, said that she turned to the Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights after she was told to stay out of the Wilcox Park and the Westerly Public Library in the town Westerly.
Officials at the Memorial and Library Association running the park and library, called police on June 24 last year saying she “ acost[ed]” patrons by “stopping” and “giving them religious pamphlets,” according to documents.
Blair, a former nurse who became blind in 1991, claims she was banned “because of [the Associations’s] unlawful discrimination against me on the basis of my disability and my religious beliefs.”
In the complaint, she confirmed that she distributed the Gospel of John. But Blair stressed that she only spoke about her Christian faith to people interested to learn about those views. “I do what the Pocket Testament League urges: ‘simply offer them a Gospel of John, the Word of God. No arguing’,” she wrote.
“From time to time, I attempt to start a conversation with passersby, and if they are willing, I offer them a copy of the Gospel of John and explain my beliefs. I have had many positive interactions with men and women that I’ve met in this way.”
The devoted Christian and member of the Wood River Baptist Church in Wyoming, Rhode Island, said she wanted to speak with people about the “purpose” Christ had given her despite her progressive vision loss.
“By 1991, I could no longer see…
As my vision faded, I came to see more clearly that we are born again through Jesus Christ, the Son of God, “ she wrote in the legal complaint. “The one thing that sustained me through the devastation of my progressive vision loss was the fact that I had, since 1984, an established, deep, personal relationship with my Lord, Jesus Christ. Despite my blindness, my deep and abiding faith gave purpose in life.”
She added that she always had done her best to care for others as a nurse caring for the elderly, quadriplegic children, and the mentally ill. “But now I care for others in what I feel is an even more important sense, by bringing the good news of the Gospel to others so they can have eternal life.”
The Westerly Police Department said it intervened as small copies of the Gospel of John were often left behind in the park.
However, her lawyers have expressed concerns about what they view as religious rights violations and discrimination. Blair is represented by the American advocacy group First Liberty Institute and William Wray Jr., an attorney at Adler Pollock & Sheehan P.C.
“No government entity should ban anyone—let alone a gentle, blind woman—for simply carrying on conversations about her faith and giving them a copy of the Gospel of John in a public park,” stressed First Liberty representative Jeremy Dys. “Banning a blind woman from entering a public park simply because she offers people she meets religious material is outrageous and discriminatory,”
It also comes amid a broader debate in the U.S. about religious freedom where some street preachers and Christian-companies have complained about harassment by people opposing their views.
If you are interested in articles produced by Worthy News, please check out our FREE sydication service available to churches or online Christian ministries. To find out more, visit Worthy Plugins.