[Nfbf-l] Iowa now allows visually impaired citizens to carry gunslegally

[Mark Tardif]

Do not, and I do mean do not, get me started on this one.  I will bridle my 
tongue so I don't start a controversy, but it's darn hard.



Mark Tardif
Nuclear arms will not hold you.
-----Original Message----- 
From: Alan Dicey
Sent: Tuesday, September 10, 2013 10:54 AM
To: Undisclosed-Recipient:;
Subject: [Nfbf-l] Iowa now allows visually impaired citizens to carry 
gunslegally

    Iowa now allows visually impaired citizens to carry guns legally
By Robert Kingett, disability reporter.

Robert Kingett is a blind journalist in Chicago who covers anything and 
everything disability, including sports, human-interest stories, and 
advocacy reports. He was ranked as top disability journalist by the staffin 
august. To have Robert cover your disability event or story, please visit 
his website. www.robertkingett.com

Sep 8, 2013 - 6 hours ago in Politics
Iowa - Recently a state law was passed that would allow blind and visually 
impaired people in Iowa to carry firearms. Residents and advocacy agents 
have varying opinions on the issue.
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.
On one side: People such as Cedar County Sheriff Warren Wethington, who 
demonstrated for this report how blind people can be taught to shoot guns. 
And Jane Hudson, executive director of Disability Rights Iowa, who says 
blocking visually impaired people from the right to obtain weapon permits 
would violate the Americans with Disabilities Act.  That federal law 
generally prohibits different treatment based on disabilities.
On the other side: People such as Dubuque County Sheriff Don Vrotsos, who 
said he wouldn't issue a permit to someone who is blind. And Patrick Clancy, 
superintendent of the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School, who says guns 
may be a rare exception to his philosophy that blind people can participate 
fully in life.
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.
"It seems a little strange, but the way the law reads, we can't deny them (a 
permit) just based on that one thing," said Sgt. Jana Abens, a spokeswoman 
for the Polk County sheriff's office, referring to a visual disability.
Polk County officials say they've issued weapons permits to at least three 
people who can't legally drive and were unable to read the application forms 
or had difficulty doing so because of visual impairments.
And sheriffs in three other counties - Jasper, Kossuth and Delaware - say 
they have granted permits to residents who they believe have severe visual 
impairments.
"I'm not an expert in vision," Delaware Sheriff John LeClere said. "At what 
point do vision problems have a detrimental effect to fire a firearm? If you 
see nothing but a blurry mass in front of you, then I would say you probably 
shouldn't be shooting.

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