Monday, September 09, 2013

Iowa Grants Gun Permits to Blind People

Here's the story from the Des Moines Register that folks have been discussing all weekend.  It seems to me that it's important to keep two issues separate here.  One, nobody should be denied a core right of citizenship (and in the United States, gun ownership is a core right of citizenship) because of some disability label; there needs to be an individualized assessment of a person's abilities, here as elsewhere. But, two, vision impairments may in many circumstances make someone unable to safely use or own a gun, and when they are severe enough to meet the various statutory criteria for blindness they may always do so.  In such cases, the individualized assessment that is necessary might be very quick and easy, and there's nothing wrong from a disability rights perspective with saying that one's blindness may make one unqualified for a gun permit (just as there's nothing wrong from a disability rights perspective with saying that one's blindness may make one unqualified for a driver's license).  That's my opinion, anyway.

2 Comments:

Blogger Marsha said...

Here in Montana, where hunting feeds many families and assists in self-sufficiency, I have blind friends who hunt....and bring home food as a result. They hunt with a spotting partner (someone else who has to drive as well)and they use laser sights. The partner spots, directs where to aim the gun, and when the laser spot is in the right place, gives the go-ahead to shoot. Assistive technology, and some support from friends, has gone a long way here to help those who are blind, or who have all levels of spinal cord injuries, and even those who use sip-and-puff technology to enjoy the outdoors and feed their families. Amazing what is possible these days.

10:04 AM  
Blogger Jonathan Dresner said...

Those are both eminently reasonable and clear statements of the issues. I agree. I'm not finding a lot of those elsewhere that this is being discussed, unfortunately.

2:39 PM  

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