Should blind people be allowed to own guns?

Great Debates
1

As some of you may already know, I have a business on the side, a small gun dealership which my oldest son and I run. My son and my brother were at a gun show a week ago, and 2 gentlemen approached our booth, one of the men was completely blind, dark glasses, red/white cane, the works. This guy seemed genuinely interested in purchasing a pistol, and got kind of pissy when my son questioned him about owning a gun.
His response was along the lines of “I’ll pass the background check, Bub!”. Then he walked away to another booth.

Now, you don’t have to sell a gun to anyone you don’t want to, the laws and regulations are pretty good about that. I have friends who are dealers who refuse to sell to anyone with gang tattoos, regardless if they pass the background. Compalints about that always have ended in the dealers favor.

Anyway, what do you think about a blind man owning a gun? I certainly wouldn’t sell or allow one to be sold to him. And I believe I’m justified. What say you?

2

I personally think that if you truly don’t feel comfortable selling it to him, don’t.

As far as a completely blind person owning a gun…well, I don’t think so. After all, what about a blind man driving a car, or being a neuro-surgeon? Personally, I don’t like the idea of someone owning a weapon like that…

3

If you were to be out hiking and you came upon a cave, you might decide to go inside to explore. You turn on your flashlight and you pat the stainless steel .380 that you carry on these hikes. Mainly for snakes and your fear of bears, but also because you just never know when you’ll come upon an unsavory character that is also trying to get “lost” in the woods. Inside you go, into the eerie darkness that is broken only by the shaft of light raging from the end of your Maglite.

You can hear the muffled sound of a waterfall. It sounds if it is all around you and you can feel the cool mist of air that is creeping through the mouth of the cave as the waterfall churns it’s moisture into the thin air. You can’t see it, even with the flashlight focused in it’s way to far away and is very likely on the other end of this maze of a cave.

Within all of this noise you can hear faint little sounds that can only come from something alive and on the move. What is it? You don’t know but you pat that .380 and brace yourself for the worst. The worst happens, the light goes out! The sounds get suddenly louder and you can tell that something - much larger than you thought - is heading your way. You can’t see a thing but you still instictively reach for your .380, rip back the hammer with your thumb and start aiming in the direction of the noise. It’s hard to keep focused on the direction of the noise as the sound is being played off the voids of the cavern walls so you are rocking back and forth on your feet straining to hear.

You decide the only way to determine where and even if you fire, is to actually wait for contact. Then you can just jab that gun into it’s side and squeeze the trigger and it’s over. And you also know that it’s not just your imagination and you don’t wind up firing without actually identifying what you are shooting.

The contact never comes, in fact, you can now tell that the sounds are getting more faint and whatever it was is running away. But, you were prepared. You had your trusty .380 and you had made a responsible decision on how to cope with your sudden handicap when the light went out.

You were lucky that the dealer that sold you the pistol didn’t know you would be going into this cave or he would not have sold you the gun.

This is farfetched, but you should appreciate the analogy.

Being blind, in and of itself, does not preclude the need for personal protection. Just the opposite is true. By definition, being blind makes personal protection even more important as the individual is left more vulnerable than sighted persons.

Just as a responsible sighted person can adapt their use of a gun in differing environments, so can a blind person.

After all, you do carry your gun at night don’t you?

4

That’s where your argument falls apart. A blind man can’t visually identify between a mugger and a girlscout. He has to depend on the attacker to identify himself verbally before he shoots.

And then, even if the blind guy shoots, theres a good chance he will miss, and cause his attacker to fire back.

Blind people, like most others, shouldn’t have guns.

5

So, I don’t agree. A sighted person in a dark situation is one thing, it’s a temporary situation.
But a totally blind person is sightless at all times. And if that person has been blind since birth, they have no idea what sight is like.

And this is coming from a person who believes in the right to bear arms, including high capacity “assualt weapons”. I also have a gun on/near me at all times except when I’m I’m at my regular job as a consultant. Then it’s in my car trunk.
I just think arming blind people would be a mistake, a mistake that would make the pro-gun movement look stupid.

6

I think a Tazer would be a better choice of self defense weapon for a blind person out in the world. However, in his own home, I see no reason why he shouldn’t be allowed to use a gun for self defense. If he keeps his doors locked then anyone who intrudes on his privacy could reasonably be considered an assailant. A simple home security setup could be installed to give an audible when certain threshholds are passed. For example, a motion sensor could go ‘beep’ when someone crosses through the doorway of his bedroom, cluing him in on when to pull the trigger.
To insure he doesn’t accidentally shoot someone else all he would have to do is yell, “don’t come in to this room or I’ll blow your head off.” (Assuming he doesn’t have any deaf friends whom he has given a key :wink: )
Hell, just the sound of a shotgun shell entering the chamber of a pump 12 gauge may be enough to ward off an intruder.

Shkk-Shkk … Oh shit! Let’s get outta here.

7

I don’t know PK, I support your stance on selling to who you want, but I think that anyone should be able to have the means to defend themselves in their home. Not knowing the law in this instance, but I find it hard to believe that this blind person could get a CCW.

8

**

If some thug grabs me from behind and shoves a knife to my ribs, I don’t think I should wait for him to “indentify himself verbally”. On a lighter side, I am imagining him introducing himself like the host does at a nicer restaurant, “Hi, my name is Michael and I will be relieving you of your cash this evening.”

**

**
There is something to be said for trying. You said there was a good chance that the blind fellow would miss. Does this mean that you believe that he might not miss? You didn’t rule this out and most handguns are used whithin arms reach from the target anyway.

**

**And people too scared to allow personal freedom shouldn’t be allowed to have an opinion.

9

Oh, the hypocricy. A fascist paying lipservice to freedom.

10

Gah, I hate coding.
The middle two paragraphs of the above quote are my response, not the quote.

11

So, by upholding the intent of the Constitution, I have been labeled a Fascist, a hypocritical one at that.

I am bothered by your slanderous espousals.

We really should work at removing your right to say such things.

12

There is no CCW for civilians what so ever in Wisconsin. The reason I’m allowed to carry is because I’m a sworn peace officer. I do some work park time for a local law enforcement agency. Otherwise, even though I’m a licensed gun dealer, I wouldn’t be allowed to carry either.

The entire reason I brought this post up is, to be honest with you, I’ve never heard of a completely blind person trying to get a gun before. I’ve never even thought about.

13

I don’t believe this question.

Are you all for real? O.O

14

In answer to the OP, yes, blind people should, if they possess no other disqualifying characteristics, be allowed to own firearms. Frankly, pkbites, I think you’re out of line for saying you wouldn’t sell to one. What’s more, I doubt your refusal to do so, if pressed, would end in your favor. Gang tattoos, as cited in your OP, are A) voluntary, and B) not a disability that’s quite clearly covered under the ADA.

I can think of three very good reasons why a blind person should be able to own a firearm:
1 – They are the very best way to defend oneself, even when the other person is right next to you.
2 – As mentioned by LokiTheDog, the mere sound of a hammer going back serves as a powerful deterrent.
3 – It’s that person’s right.

What is it about blind people that makes you think they don’t know that they’re blind and have already spent a lot of time figuring out how they can adapt to situations that we sighted folks move through without thinking?

You, on the other hand, have spent an entire week mulling it over while you weren’t thinking about your job or dinner or whatever else was going on in your mind. And you feel you’ve got better judgment about what’s good for them and the people around them in this situation?

15

So you think anyone who disagrees with you on this issue should have their first amendment rights removed?

Out of interest, is there any case where you think a person should not be allowed to own a gun?

By the way, I’ll state now that I personally think a blind person could not use a gun in a way that satisfies rule number 1 of gun safety as I was taught it:

16

How about this one:
A blind man (we’ll call him Phil) wakes up at night after hearing breaking glass downstairs.
Phil gets his firearm out of the nightstand and says loudly, “Whoever is there, I have a gun.” He then pulls the hammer back as loudly as he can while pointing it toward the floor.

This scenario is almost exactly what would happen if I were Phil. The differences:
1 – I’d have to search for my glasses first.
2 – I would probably fumble more for the firearm. Blind people have a tendency to remember precisely where they put things.

If the situation escalates, Phil ensures that he is either within point-blank range, which is the range I’d wager most of these such confrontations happen, or physically in contact with the robber before shooting. Either way, I’d say he’s satisfying your first rule.

By the way, I always thought the first rule of gun safety was “It’s always loaded.”

17

Personally I’d assume that anyone blind purchasing a firearm would be giving it away a gift. Of course I’m assuming that a blind person would just know that they really shouldn’t attempt to be using firearms. I’ve heard rumors of a blind guy in Texas trying to take the CCW test but I can’t substantiate them.

**

First, if he doesn’t know I have a firearm maybe I can draw it without him noticing. Next, if he’s that close to me with a knife I’m going to be in fear for my life and unlikely to worry about bullets going through him or missing him and hitting innocent people. Yes, I am concerned that other people may be hit. However when faced with the immediate threat of death or maiming I’m not concerned with the unlikely possiblity that I may hit an innocent bystander.

Marc

18

I understand your reluctance to not sell to him. I don’t know whether your technically in violation of ADA or not but I think you did the right thing.

Marc

19

Well, because blind people have trouble aiming, they should not be sold guns (IMHO) but instead should be allowed to purchase bazookas, grenades, and small nuclear bombs… things that don’t require a lot of fine-tuned aiming.

The same should apply to all the other rights we enjoy – the blind, or other handicapped persons, should have the same rights! Why should we deprive blind people of their rights to drive, for instance, just because they can’t see?

20

No he’s not. If he believes that the gun would be a danger in the hands of the would be buyer, he does not have to sell. It does not affect the buyers satutory rights.

Any more than having Charlton Heston as their spokesperson? :wink: