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Title: Threatening Fines & Jail Time, Kentucky Bureaucrats Prevent Ministry From Giving Free Eyeglasses to Homeless
Source:
The Rutherford Institute
URL Source: https://www.rutherford.org/publicat ... e_eyeglasses_to_homeless_needy
Published: Oct 19, 2019
Author: John Whitehead
Post Date: 2019-10-29 13:51:43 by Deckard
Keywords: None
Views: 877
Comments: 3
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Citing the First Amendment and a state religious freedom law, The Rutherford Institute has told Kentucky regulators that their ongoing attempts to place bureaucratic roadblocks in the path of a ministry’s efforts to provide free corrective eyeglasses to the poor and homeless violates the ministry’s rights. Kendall Optometry Ministry—whose mission is to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ by providing eyeglasses to the poor and homeless throughout the world—hosts free eye clinics for the poor and homeless where it distributes used and new glasses, all of which have been carefully measured for their corrective properties and catalogued. The Kentucky Boards of Optometric Examiners and Ophthalmic Dispensers have warned the Ministry that its charity work violates state licensing laws that could result in fines and jail time. In coming to the defense of the Optometry Ministry, Rutherford Institute attorneys contend that attempts to shut down the Ministry violate a state law protecting religious freedom. “Instead of commending this eyeglass ministry for its notable efforts to improve the lives of the homeless so they can get a job, get off the streets and become productive citizens who are no longer dependent on taxpayer subsidies, the government has opted to turn a blind eye to its beneficial impact on the community,” said constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute and author of Battlefield America: The War on the American People. “Make no mistake: this is yet another instance of bureaucratic overregulation, government criminalization of those who work to alleviate the plight of the homeless, and a general disregard for religious freedom.” Kendall Optometry Ministry, Inc., was founded in 2003 by Holland Kendall, a retired electrical engineer and devout Christian who started the Ministry after hearing from many homeless people that they could not see well enough to get a job. The Ministry— a nonprofit that strives to lift people out of homelessness and poverty by helping to improve their ability to see clearly and, in turn, be productive members of society, raise their standard of living and eliminate their need for public assistance—is guided and inspired by passages from the Bible about Jesus giving sight to the blind. With the help of social services agencies, the Ministry goes to the poor and homeless to evaluate their need for corrective lenses and provide them with glasses that will improve their vision. It first determines a person’s prescription using sophisticated equipment that accurately determines the corrective needs for each eye. Based on the measurements taken, the Ministry searches its inventory of glasses to determine what pair would be the best optical match for each person seeking help. The glasses inventory consists of both used and unused glasses, all of which have been carefully scanned with a lensometer to determine the correction properties of each lens. The Ministry has also consulted with a licensed optometrist to determine the best principles to follow in selecting glasses for each individual. However, in April 2019, the Ministry received a cease-and-desist letter from the Kentucky Boards of Optometry and Ophthalmic Dispensing asserting that the Ministry had violated state laws and regulations by holding free eye clinics and by providing eyeglasses that are not made to order. In coming to the defense of the Ministry, Rutherford Institute attorneys argue that the Boards’ warnings prevent the Ministry from pursuing its religious mission and violate Kentucky’s religious freedom statute because there is no compelling interest served by applying the licensing laws and regulations to the Ministry.
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#1. To: Deckard (#0)
It's all about the man who invented bifocals.
He is in direct violation of Kentucky State Law. KENTUCKY REVISED STATUTES CHAPTER 320 (KRS320) Declaration of legislative policy concerning practice of optometry. The practice of optometry in the Commonwealth of Kentucky is hereby declared to affect the public health and safety and is subject to regulation and control in the public interest. Optometry is hereby declared to be a learned profession and it is further declared to be a matter of public interest and concern that the practice of optometry as defined in this chapter and the optometric profession merit and receive the confidence of the public and that only qualified persons be admitted to the practice of optometry and be permitted to so practice in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. This chapter shall be liberally construed to carry out theseobjects and purposes in accordance with this declaration of policy. History: Created 1954 Ky. Acts ch. 183, sec. [...] (c) Any person shall be regarded as practicing optometry if he or she: 1. Performs or advertises to perform optometric operations of any kind, including diagnosing or treating diseases of the eye or visual system or deficiencies of the eye and its appendages, or attempts to correct the vision thereof; 2. Prescribes, provides, furnishes, adapts, uses, or employs lenses, prisms, contact lenses, visual therapy, orthoptics, ocular exercise, autofractometry, or any other means or device for the aid, relief, or correction of the human eye and its appendages, except upon the written prescription of a licensed optometrist; or 3. Uses the words "optometrist," "doctor of optometry," the letters "O.D," or other letters or title in connection with his or her name, which in any way represents him or her as being engaged in the practice of optometry; and (d) Low vision rehabilitation; - - - - - - - - - - 320.300 Unlawful practices. It shall be unlawful and a violation of the provisions of this chapter for any person: (1) To sell, fit, or dispense visual aids except upon the written prescription of an optometrist, physician, or osteopath regularly licensed to practice optometry, medicine, or osteopathy; (2) To practice optometry, directly or indirectly, or to hold oneself out as being able so to do without first having obtained a license from the board; (3) Who writes a prescription for visual aid glasses, to receive any part of the price paid to a third person for filling the prescription or for the third person to pay to the person writing the prescription any part of the price paid for filling the prescription; (4) To practice optometry under any name other than his own, except as permitted by the board in its regulations. Effective: July 14, 2000 History: Amended 2000 Ky. Acts ch. 361, sec. 10, effective July 14, 2000. -- Amended 1990 Ky. Acts ch. 256, sec. 13, effective July 13, 1990. -- Created 1954 Ky. Acts ch. 183, sec. 11. Would a pharmacy ministry, handing out free leftover prescription medicine, enjoy a religious exemption from medical licensing? How about a dental ministry for cleaning your teeth?
That's your problem right there - you don't care if something is morally right or wrong. With the help of social services agencies, the Ministry goes to the poor and homeless to evaluate their need for corrective lenses and provide them with glasses that will improve their vision. It first determines a person’s prescription using sophisticated equipment that accurately determines the corrective needs for each eye. Based on the measurements taken, the Ministry searches its inventory of glasses to determine what pair would be the best optical match for each person seeking help. The glasses inventory consists of both used and unused glasses, all of which have been carefully scanned with a lensometer to determine the correction properties of each lens. The Ministry has also consulted with a licensed optometrist to determine the best principles to follow in selecting glasses for each individual. Your worship of the law by putting it above God's mandates (help the poor and needy) displays your crass hatred of those who are in need, and you want to punish or stop those who help the poor. My guess is that you are an atheist.
Government is in the last resort the employment of armed men, of policemen, gendarmes, soldiers, prison guards, and hangmen.
#2. To: Deckard (#0)
Kendall Optometry Ministry, Inc., was founded in 2003 by Holland Kendall, a retired electrical engineer and devout Christian
320.200
#3. To: nolu chan (#2)
He is in direct violation of Kentucky State Law.
The essential feature of government is the enforcement of its decrees by beating, killing, and imprisoning.
Those who are asking for more government interference are asking ultimately for more compulsion and less freedom.
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