[nfbmi-talk] i agree with this and more

joe harcz Comcast joeharcz at comcast.net
Sun Sep 8 20:49:59 UTC 2013


Say do you think we might have the safety program re-established at the TC 
someday?

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Christine Boone" <christineboone2 at gmail.com>
To: "NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, September 08, 2013 3:29 PM
Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] i agree with this and more


>I whole-heartedly agree with Joe, and with Michael Barber, and with Bass 
>Pro Shops too.  I am pleased to see that Iowa granted Michael his permit 
>after he took the proper class.  This is as it should be.
>
> On Sep 8, 2013, at 11:16 AM, "joe harcz Comcast" <joeharcz at comcast.net> 
> wrote:
>
>> Folks long ago I sponsored a resolution from NFB MI on the equal rights 
>> of blind folks of all sorts to have and bare arms. I am as many know left 
>> of center in the political spectrum and some would think that I'm against 
>> folks having the right to bare arms ....I am not and certainly even if I 
>> was am a fervent believer in that which is afforded to sighted folks is 
>> also afforded to blind folks nonetheless.
>>
>> This is a simple principle in law and equity.
>>
>> Anyway enjoy this article.
>>
>> Joe
>> Blind man buying gun: 'Public has a misperception about blindness' . 
>> Written by Jason Clayworth . Michael Barber is completely blind. Last 
>> month he purchased
>>
>> his first gun, and on Friday he picked up his permit to legally carry 
>> that gun in public. Why? Because he wants to. It's his right. It's 
>> perfectly within
>>
>> the realm of possibility and within our rights that a blind person can 
>> safely carry a weapon if he or she decides they want to do that, Barber 
>> said. Barber,
>>
>> an employee of the Iowa Department for the Blind, is also president of 
>> the National Federation of the Blind of Iowa. He has taken a safety 
>> course and soon
>>
>> plans to participate in practice shooting at a range. Barber and his 
>> wife, Kim, allowed the Register to accompany them as they purchased his 
>> first handgun
>>
>> about three weeks ago at Bass Pro Shops in Altoona. When you shoot a gun, 
>> you take it out and point and shoot, and I don't necessarily think 
>> eyesight is
>>
>> necessary, Barber said. If someone is attacking me, I'm going to be able 
>> to hear what they're doing, and if I need to use the weapon, I'll use the 
>> weapon.
>>
>> Part of the desire to purchase and legally carry the gun in public is the 
>> challenge, he acknowledged. For me, the inspiration is just to see if I 
>> run into
>>
>> any difficulties,Barber said in March, before purchasing his gun.I want 
>> to see if I will be permitted to obtain the permit to carry as a blind 
>> person.
>>
>> If I'm not, I'll challenge it. Polk County doesn't deny permits because 
>> of visual impairment, Sgt. Jana Abens said. Barber obtained a training 
>> certificate,
>>
>> and his background check didn't come back with any reasons for the Polk 
>> County sheriff to deny the permit. When Barber purchased a gun at Bass 
>> Pro Shops
>>
>> on Aug. 15, it was the first time a blind person had purchased a handgun 
>> there, as far as operations manager Todd Godfrey could determine. The 
>> store's
>>
>> clerks gave Michael Barber no static about his inability to see, and 
>> assisted him in obtaining two shoppers in the store to serve as the 
>> required witnesses
>>
>> to his signature on paperwork required under federal law before 
>> purchasing the handgun. I think it's pretty cool. Everyone has Second 
>> Amendment rights,
>>
>> and we thought that whatever we can do to accommodate him, we'll do our 
>> best, Godfrey said. Courtney Rinner and her boyfriend, Mason Ouderkirk of 
>> Indianola,
>>
>> were the witnesses to the gun purchase. They watched intently as Barber, 
>> with his cane at his side, answered questions and was guided by his wife 
>> to sign
>>
>> the necessary paperwork. My main thought was: 'I'd like to help him out. 
>> If I were in that position, I'd want someone to help me out, too, 
>> Ouderkirk said.
>>
>> As for Barber, he said he knows people may read this article and conclude 
>> that blind people have no business carrying weapons. But he hopes that at 
>> least
>>
>> some readers will stop and think a bit before reaching conclusions. The 
>> sighted public has a misperception about blindness that if you're blind, 
>> you can't
>>
>> do this or that, Barber said. They don't stop to think that with proper 
>> training and with opportunity, you can. .
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> nfbmi-talk mailing list
>> nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbmi-talk_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
>> nfbmi-talk:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbmi-talk_nfbnet.org/christineboone2%40gmail.com
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nfbmi-talk mailing list
> nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbmi-talk_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> nfbmi-talk:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbmi-talk_nfbnet.org/joeharcz%40comcast.net 





More information about the NFBMI-Talk mailing list