Iowa sheriffs were issuing carry permits to legally blind citizens

[RED333]

I do understand both sides, a person has the right to defend them selves.

"Eighty percent of people who are considered legally blind have some vision."

I, as most, carry a knife as well as a pistol. I have giving thought that I might use my knife instead of a pistol if the attacker does not have a gun or rod type weapon. I know in the heat of the moment things go from bad to worse in an instant.

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/should-the-legally-blind-be-allowed-to-carry-guns-in-public/

Rep. Baudler says the idea of the legally blind carrying concealed weapons doesn't bother him, partly because, like everyone else who gets a permit, they are required to complete a firearms training course. They are not, however, required to do a "live-round" test to prove proficiency.

According to Clayworth's article, Nebraska requires "proof of vision" - such as a drivers license or doctor's note - to obtain a concealed carry permit, while Missouri and Minnesota require live-round tests.

Last year, Kopel presented written testimony to the Wash., D.C. City Council, which was revisiting its firearms laws. As part of his testimony, he addressed this issue, stating that, "Discrimination against individuals who have the misfortune to be actually or "legally" blind is a straightforward violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act."

[Swamp ash]

As long as they don't shoot blindly...

[Dirtshooter]

2 hours ago, RED333 said:

I might use my knife

Hey Red that is a really good idea. When I took my enhanced CC course in Mississippi we were told that the odds of surviving a gunshot is 80% but surviving a knife was 30%. He said unless you are shot in vital area you can generally get to hospital and they can save you. However if you are cut in a big enough vein or an artery you could bleed out long before an ambulance could get to you. In my case where I live that could easily be 30+ minutes. About the same time it would take to get a LEO here as well, that is why firearms with sufficient ammo is necessary here.

[10-Ring]

I didn't see anything in the 2nd Amendment that stated "except for blind people". 

[MP5_Rizzo]

 

Got to say after reading the title this was the first thing I thought of.

 

 

[Dirtshooter]

8 hours ago, 10-Ring said:

I didn't see anything in the 2nd Amendment that stated "except for blind people". 

And who in their right mind would go against a blind person with a gun, say a mossberg shockware or such. Hi cap mag and spray and pray,the shooter that is. The house would be full of holes where a mouse had ran across the room. LOL I bet nobody would even knock on his door after the word got out, hey old Coley must have lots of ammo we heard him shooting 4 times last night.

[Capbyrd]

To be legally blind, your vision must be 20/200 or worse after correction, or have less than a 20 degree field of view.   

As someone that has vision worse than 20/200 when I'm not wearing my corrective lenses, I feel confident in saying that while I couldn't drive safely, I could confidently defend my life at the distance that most self defense scenarios play out.   That being said, I would be willing to hang a target and shoot the TN qual without my contacts in, just to see.  

And that doesn't even consider the field of view people.  They might actually have a better chance, but a higher probability of an innocent running into the field of fire.  

[Capbyrd]

After our my permit class today I asked a couple of fellow instructors to stay with me and supervise me shooting the TN qual without corrective lenses.   This was done on a closed range with two very experienced instructors behind me in case anything went awry.  
 

legally, a person is considered blind if their corrected vision is 20/200 or worse, or they have a field of view narrower than 20 degrees.   For those that don’t know, 20/200 means that something that is 20 feet away looks the same to you, as something 200 feet away looks to a person with 20/20.   20/200 also equates to around a -2.50 prescription.   While my vision corrects to 20/15 or so, my uncorrected vision is around 20/300 or worse.  My prescription is -5.00 but the math isn’t simple so that being twice -2.50 doesn’t make it 20/400.  
 

I hope all of that makes sense.  Now the target.  This is the normal TN HCP qualification shot on a B-27 with 20 rounds at 3 yards, 20 at 5 yards and 10 rounds at 7 yards.  
 

 

Now for my experience shooting this.  At 3 yards, the target is solid enough, it’s not a concern.   My big issue is that my sights aren’t large enough to be able to focus on.  My carry gun has ameriglo bolds on it and I love these sights.  The yellow front is still visible without my contacts.  But I can’t focus on the front.  I can’t line up the top of the sights and I’m honestly just guessing at where the dot is in relation to the notch.   I wish I could show y’all a picture of what I see.  After I started thinking about it I really don’t know how much of this was me trying to aim and how much was me naturally point shooting.   Someone starting out wouldn’t be able to point shoot unless they had some drills that I can’t imagine.   

[Chucktshoes]

51 minutes ago, Capbyrd said:

After our my permit class today I asked a couple of fellow instructors to stay with me and supervise me shooting the TN qual without corrective lenses.   This was done on a closed range with two very experienced instructors behind me in case anything went awry.  
 

legally, a person is considered blind if their corrected vision is 20/200 or worse, or they have a field of view narrower than 20 degrees.   For those that don’t know, 20/200 means that something that is 20 feet away looks the same to you, as something 200 feet away looks to a person with 20/20.   20/200 also equates to around a -2.50 prescription.   While my vision corrects to 20/15 or so, my uncorrected vision is around 20/300 or worse.  My prescription is -5.00 but the math isn’t simple so that being twice -2.50 doesn’t make it 20/400.  
 

I hope all of that makes sense.  Now the target.  This is the normal TN HCP qualification shot on a B-27 with 20 rounds at 3 yards, 20 at 5 yards and 10 rounds at 7 yards.  
 

 

Now for my experience shooting this.  At 3 yards, the target is solid enough, it’s not a concern.   My big issue is that my sights aren’t large enough to be able to focus on.  My carry gun has ameriglo bolds on it and I love these sights.  The yellow front is still visible without my contacts.  But I can’t focus on the front.  I can’t line up the top of the sights and I’m honestly just guessing at where the dot is in relation to the notch.   I wish I could show y’all a picture of what I see.  After I started thinking about it I really don’t know how much of this was me trying to aim and how much was me naturally point shooting.   Someone starting out wouldn’t be able to point shoot unless they had some drills that I can’t imagine.   

You know what would be interesting, shooting this again with a rds. Just to see how that compares. 

[Capbyrd]

24 minutes ago, Chucktshoes said:

You know what would be interesting, shooting this again with a rds. Just to see how that compares. 

I don’t think I could see the dot.  

[hipower]

On 3/9/2021 at 8:48 AM, MP5_Rizzo said:

 

Got to say after reading the title this was the first thing I thought of.

 

 

Classic! One of the best movies EVER!

[Chucktshoes]

2 hours ago, Capbyrd said:

I don’t think I could see the dot.  

Maybe, maybe not. But I’d be interested in volunteering my War Poet for the experiment if you would be up for it. My prescription is -2.25 and I can see the dot uncorrected. 

[Capbyrd]

8 hours ago, Chucktshoes said:

Maybe, maybe not. But I’d be interested in volunteering my War Poet for the experiment if you would be up for it. My prescription is -2.25 and I can see the dot uncorrected. 

I’ll give it a go. 

[No_0ne]

I'm also someone who is "legally blind" when not wearing my everyday contacts.  I'm also fairly confidant that I could hit an intruder without my lenses in at the distances involved in typical defensive scenarios.  I might not know who they are, or exactly where the shot placement is, but I could put some rounds in the big, scary blob moving through my house ...

[Capbyrd]

6 hours ago, No_0ne said:

I'm also someone who is "legally blind" when not wearing my everyday contacts.  I'm also fairly confidant that I could hit an intruder without my lenses in at the distances involved in typical defensive scenarios.  I might not know who they are, or exactly where the shot placement is, but I could put some rounds in the big, scary blob moving through my house ...

This isn’t about what happens in your home.  You don’t need a permit for your home. 

[JayC]

On 3/11/2021 at 10:43 AM, Capbyrd said:

To be legally blind, your vision must be 20/200 or worse after correction, or have less than a 20 degree field of view.   

As someone that has vision worse than 20/200 when I'm not wearing my corrective lenses, I feel confident in saying that while I couldn't drive safely, I could confidently defend my life at the distance that most self defense scenarios play out.   That being said, I would be willing to hang a target and shoot the TN qual without my contacts in, just to see.  

And that doesn't even consider the field of view people.  They might actually have a better chance, but a higher probability of an innocent running into the field of fire.  

I was at the range with some buddies about 15 years ago...  We all took turns shooting the hcp qualification course blind folded... 4 out of 5 of us passed.

Remember that 99+% of people pass the HCP class.  Citizens with no training are 5 times less likely that police officers to shoot and kill an innocent person in a justified shooting.

I'm not worried about a guy who is legally blind shooting me, but I think he should have any option he feels comfortable with to protect his own life.

[RED333]

1 hour ago, JayC said:

I'm not worried about a guy who is legally blind shooting me, but I think he should have any option he feels comfortable with to protect his own life.

and we have a winner!!!