Bill To Erect Memorial to Blind Veterans in State Capitol Signed By Gov. Newsom

A bill to erect a memorial to blind veterans inside the State Capitol in Sacramento was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom earlier this week.

Assembly Bill 298, authored by Assemblyman Devon Mathis (R-Visalia), specifically states that the bill authorizes a nonprofit organization that represents blind veterans, in consultation with the Department of General Services, to plan, construct, and maintain a braille American flag to serve as a monument to the blind veterans of California and the United States in the State Capitol Building. AB 298 further states that the monument is to come from private funding and will only be built once enough funding is determined by the Department of Finance.

The monument will be a braille American flag, placed in the State Capitol in an as-of-yet undesignated area.

Assemblyman Mathis authored the bill because of a lack of recognition for blind or eye damaged veterans. According to a fact sheet by Mathis, there are 158,000 blind veterans in the U.S., with 13% of wounded troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan having sustained a major injury to the eye. The bill and subsequent monument would simply serve to honor blind veterans.

“America’s more than 158,000 blind veterans are often forgotten—despite their permanent sacrifices,” Mathis said earlier this year. “This isn’t because blind veterans are becoming less common: A full 13% of wounded troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan sustained a serious eye injury. It’s rather because we haven’t collectively acknowledged those who’ve sacrificed so much. This bill is our acknowledgement to blind veterans: we honor your sacrifice, today and forever, and want you to feel included at our state Capitol. It’s the least we can do—without our blind veterans, we’d have no Capitol, no California, no United States.”

“By allowing a non-profit organization to plan, construct, and maintain a Braille Flag honoring blind veterans in the State Capitol, AB 298 supports our blind veterans and their families, acknowledging their legacy of bravery and sacrifice. Prior to the construction of a Braille flag, AB 298 would require a plan for the monument to be submitted to the Joint Rules Committee for its review and approval. The braille flag will serve as a beautiful testament to our blind veterans once completed.”

AB 298 cruised easily through both the Assembly and Senate this year, receiving no opposition from either party. In May, it passed the Assembly with a 66-0 with 14 abstention vote, while last month it passed the Senate with a unanimous 40-0 vote. Then, with no opposition, Governor Newsom signed it into law on Wednesday.

“Bills like this, setting up a no-brainer monument or something that honors an often unseen group for something heroic, those are shoo-ins,” said Dana, a Capitol staffer. “If you vote no, it would be very hard to explain yourself. This is privately funded for blind veterans. Who is going to vote no?”

Blind veterans in California also supported the bill, although some were more indifferent than outright supportive of it.

“You’re not going to find a single one of us against putting a braille monument up to blind veterans,”  explained Rico Peralta, a military veteran with partial blindness caused by injuries sustained in the Iraq War. “A lot of disabled veterans, we like to be seen more in general as a veteran no more, no less. Others feel they sacrificed more for this country. But, either way, this is a nice monument and, when seen by school groups or passersby, will make them think just what kind of sacrifice their sight was.”

“An American flag in braille is well thought out too. There was a meeting I recently went to that had deaf or partially deaf veterans, and the DJ there specifically played the Star-Spangled Banner in a style with high bass so that they could feel it being played. This is like that. Some of us may not see it, but we can damn well feel it.”

The monument is expected to be moved forward on soon following it being signed into law.