Members of the Jefferson County Health and Human Relations Commission on May 29 raised concerns about participation criteria listed on a flyer for a self-defense course run by or through the sheriff's office, saying the flyer required attendees to be U.S. citizens and excluded people with felony convictions.

Commission member Amanda Chandler and others said the citizenship requirement could exclude people who are legally present in the United States on visas, green cards, refugee status or other lawful statuses. “In our county…1.2% of our population were not born in the U.S., and about 3.6% speak a language other than English at home,” a commission member said when urging sensitivity to noncitizen residents. The member also noted that the 1964 Federal Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of national origin and suggested the commission examine whether the county should seek legal guidance.

Commissioners said they had not yet heard directly from the sheriff's office about the flyer and asked for a factual check: why were the restrictions included, and whether an alternative — such as background checks or other screening that does not use citizenship as a criterion — would address the sheriff's operational concerns. One member urged the commission to contact Sheriff Flint with a neutral request for clarification; commissioners assigned follow-up to a member who volunteered to ask general questions about the class and the reasons for the eligibility rules.

Commissioners also discussed the exclusion of people with felony convictions. Members acknowledged that screening for violent criminal history could be a legitimate safety measure but urged that blanket exclusions may be overly broad and discourage participation by people who pose no safety risk. The commission did not adopt policy or file a complaint at the meeting; members agreed to request information from the sheriff's office and to relay findings at a future meeting.