Here’s some news that has law enforcement officials and lawmakers scratching their heads:
Iowa is granting permits to acquire or carry guns in public to people who are legally or completely blind.
No one questions the legality of the permits. State law does not allow sheriffs to deny an Iowan the right to carry a weapon based on physical ability. The quandary centers squarely on public safety.
Advocates for the disabled and Iowa law enforcement officers disagree over whether it’s a good idea for visually disabled Iowans to have weapons.
They "disagree" over whether or not it is a good idea to allow individuals who CANNOT SEE to have the right to carry a weapon in public which fires a potentially lethal projectile up to and over a mile away? Seriously?
So guns and blind people have been around for hundreds of years, why is this coming up now?
Private gun ownership — even hunting — by visually impaired Iowans is nothing new. But the practice of visually impaired residents legally carrying firearms in public became widely possible thanks to gun permit changes that took effect in Iowa in 2011.
Ah yes, the new push by the NRA to make sure that EVERYBODY in the country has the right to carry a gun. Even if they CAN'T see what in the hell they are shooting at.
Such a good plan.
And really how can the American people say no? After all it is in the Constitution.
Besides without our Founding Fathers Cross-eyed Willie and Blind as a Bat Pete this country might still be serving tea and crumpets instead of good old American food like beer and pork rinds.
You know when real life decisions move beyond the reach of parody, I think it is time to reassess our priorities.
I can see where that would be a bad idea.
ReplyDeleteMaybe if we could sue those who bring/ make these stupid laws, they would use some common sense. Why not just give the blind a permit to drive a car? I was just reading that a 3 yr old was killed with the gun being brought to a National Park. That senator needs to know that death is his fault and never have a moment of peace.
ReplyDeleteAbout on a par with our banks drive-up ATM machines, outfitted with braille.
ReplyDeleteThere has been a wonderful, ground-breaking change in the last 40 years, making the world more and more accessible to those for whom it had been an open book.
But -- wtf. Can anyone in a lobby for the blind actually be asking for this special accommodation?
And Zimmerman is back in police custory.
ReplyDeleteOT (although still about People Who Shouldn't Have Guns): George Zimmerman is reportedly in custody after his estranged wife called the police saying he threatened her and her father with a gun
ReplyDeletehttp://www.clickorlando.com/news/george-zimmerman-taken-into-custody-after-incident-with-gun-police-say/-/1637132/21851424/-/tlxm3oz/-/index.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Too bad they didn't stand their ground.
DeleteI'm not a very good shot.. but I might have a chance against someone who's legally blind.
ReplyDeleteEvery day I think things cannot become more idiotic in the USA AND guess what, they do!
ReplyDeleteWould be interesting to see how many in America are actually proud to be a part of this country? I see the likes of John McCain, Sarah Palin, Rodman (North Korea's buddy!), Donald Trump, Rush Limbaugh, Hannity (FOX) and McConnell (Kentucky guy - U.S. Congress) getting national press and it makes me want to barf!
O/T kind of...
ReplyDeleteGeorge Zimmerman has THREATENED HIS WIFE with a GUN at her father's home. Police have been called and it's a developing story. It was reported 10 minutes ago at...
http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20130909/US_NEIGHBORHOOD_WATCH/
That's It! I'm moving to Sweden.
ReplyDeleteGryphen,
ReplyDeleteGeorge Zimmerman is in custody for a domestic incident.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/trayvon-martin/os-george-zimmerman-in-custody-gun-20130909,0,4880482.story
O/T - Zimmerman detained by police. Possible domestic violence situation with a gun.
ReplyDeleteGeorge Zimmerman just can’t seem to stay out of the news, or out of trouble. One would think that after literally getting away with murder, he’d want a nice, quiet life. That does not seem to be the case, though. Zimmerman has apparently been taken into police custody after- surprise, surprise- an altercation involving a gun.
DeleteLake Mary, Florida police say they were called to a home on Sprucewood Road Monday afternoon because of an apparent altercation involving threats and a firearm. George Zimmerman was one of the involved parties. What is even more interesting is that, according to public records, the house in question is owned by David and Machelle Dean. The last name matches that of Zimmerman’s wife, who recently filed for divorce and did a television interview in which she discussed her relationship with George Zimmerman.
Zach Hudson, a spokesman for Lake Mary Police, says that the authorities are “trying to determine exactly what happened.”
Now, this is only speculation, but I think I can come up for a reasonable explanation. George Zimmerman is a control freak, as was shown throughout the accounts of his trial in the shooting death of unarmed teen Trayvon Martin. Said control freak’s wife has left him and has filed for divorce. He wants his wife back. She is likely staying with her parents, and he knew this. He went up there, determined to drag her back home like cavemen who think they own their wives tend to do. When things didn’t go the way he thought they would, he pulled a gun and started hurling threats, at which time the cops were called.
Now, of course, once again, this is only speculation on my part, but, knowing what we know of this guy, it seems pretty reasonable to me. All of that aside, though, it should be no surprise that Zimmerman is at odds with the law again. After all, we all saw what a hothead he was while watching the Trayvon Martin trial unfold. Justice may not have prevailed there, but it will at some point, because Zimmerman’s hot head just will not let him stay out of trouble. It is only a matter of time. Stay tuned for more on this story.
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/09/09/breaking-george-zimmerman-taken-into-custody-after-allegedly-threatening-wife-with-gun/
Why anyone with a disability that keeps them from seeing or aiming a firearm properly ought not to be able to have a gun. Imagine someone with severe tremors holding and aiming a gun. No problem there, right? I say this because I have a close relative who has severe tremors. She cannot even hold a glass or a knife. Imagine how awful her aim with a firearm would be?
ReplyDeleteCommon sense and basic physical thresholds must be a part of reasonable gun control. After all, we cannot operate cars if we are blind, incapable of accurate steering or are chronically impaired due to heavy medication, booze or recreational drugs. This is a matter of public safety for the common good.
But NRA members and the legislators who pander to them lack common sense so no "basic physical thresholds" will be set. I'll just add Iowa to my ever lengthening list of states to avoid.
DeleteBeaglemom
Your relative needs a 12 Ga. pump shotgun. Or a semiauto assault rifle with a large magazine. The doctrine of maximizing the downrange rounds to increase the odd of hitting something DEFINITLTY applies here! She should practice emptying the magazine as fast as possible also too!
DeleteChild just fatally shot herself at Yellowstone after Congress legalized guns in parks
ReplyDeleteSaturday morning at a campground in Yellowstone Yellowstone National Park, a little girl fatally shot herself. According to the release from the National Park Service, Park rangers responded to a 911 call from a woman at the Grant Village Campground, who told the emergency dispatcher that her young daughter had shot herself with a handgun.
http://freakoutnation.com/2013/09/08/child-just-fatally-shot-herself-at-yellowstone-after-congress-legalized-guns-in-parks/
No guns involved, just smart, intuitive kids that observed and acted.
ReplyDelete2 teenagers rescue woman who was forced into a car in Texas then kidnapped
http://freakoutnation.com/2013/09/07/2-teenagers-rescue-woman-who-was-forced-into-a-car-in-texas-then-kidnapped/
What kills me is that the whole reason this is legal is because of how the 2nd Amendment is interpreted. Owning a weapon that is capable of killing is 100% protected if you are blind (otherwise you violate the Disabilities Act), but being able to drive a car is not. Access to affordable health care is not.
ReplyDeleteI'm not arguing that a blind person shouldn't be able to own a gun based on the law. There's lots of people out there who don't know their ass from a hole in the ground who are allowed to own guns (although I wish that weren't the case). But to carry a gun in public? You're carrying it because you anticipate needing to use it; that's the argument you hear from the gun lobbyists: you might get mugged in the middle of Target or something and need to bust a cap in someone's ass or something equally Dirty Harry-ish. But someone who literally cannot see who is attacking them/threatening them, whether or not they're wearing a vest made of newborn babies or innocent virgins, where they're running, if there's anyone in front of them/in the line of fire.... How do you justify that? If you can't see someone sneaking up on you, your gun could easily be taken from you as well.
So a blind guy walks down the street with a white cane and a Glock on his hip. Does that sound like a recipe for a mugging? You might as well wear a sign saying "free gun".
ReplyDeleteI was looking for a new business to start.
ReplyDeleteBraille targets maybe what I need to sell.
Wouldn't a seeing-eye dog be better protection for blind folk, rather than a gun? Hmmmm....what an idea! A trained-to-protect/guide big black lab standing between his charge and the fellow with evil intent.
ReplyDeleteMaple12:16 PM
DeleteDon't be fooled. They're great retrievers and swimmers, too, but Black Labs can't shoot worth a shit. And German Shepherds are even worse at hitting a target; plus, they hold their varmit guns like Sarah Palin.
But you give that hot Saturday-Night-Special to a Chihuahua, he'll take that pistola and shoot it out with all of them illegals with cantaloupe calves from hauling those 40-kilo bales of whackee-tobaccee who spend their time all the blind white folks after they make their delivery to the very librul dope sellers. Best of all, them Mexican dogs hate them white Hispanic dumb-asses and the inbred 'conservatives' whose eyes are about 3 millimeters apart. Like the Z-Retard.
Oh, for fuck's sake. let's give them all driver's licenses, too.
ReplyDeleteThe right to free speech has limits. You can't yell fire in a crowded theater, because your right to free speech ends where others' rights to life and liberty begin.
Sorry, the right to gun ownership has responsibilities also. In a sane world, anyway.
Gryphen, this made me sit up and take notice!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.businessinsider.com/men-with-big-balls-are-less-involved-parents-2013-9
It's a hell of a job, but someone's gotta do it!
DeleteNo disrespect to people who cannot see, but they are not allowed to sit in the exit row in an airplane because they cannot see what to do in case of an emergency. I don't think that they could pass the vision part of a driving test. Can anyone get a license to carry a gun, or are they also required to show proof of passing a gun safety and target practice course? I don't want a blind person driving the fire truck down my street, and I'm sorry, but the blind really shouldn't perform complicated surgery, either.
ReplyDeleteReally... HOW much more dangerous it is for a blind person to have a gun than, say...
ReplyDeleteany person on the no-fly list?
convicted felons?
any terrorist that can get into the country?
...because every one of these people can walk into any gun-show and purchase any number of weapons
no questions asked.
So - why would we balk at letting blind people have firearms?
Iowa should let them drive, too. Cull the herd in this mentally challenged state.
ReplyDeleteAny blind people reading this who think this law is a good idea, raise your hand! Ooops, scratch that one.
ReplyDeleteOne needs to meet or exceed certain criteria in order to legally drive a car. Vision is a biggie, and I've never seen nor heard of any demonstrations by blind and visually impaired people thinking their rights were being infringed upon.
The NRA will do anything, say anything to sell guns. Despicable.