Today in the Headline Hall of Fame:
"Blind Man Finds Bias in Denial of Gun Permit"
Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Wednesday May 16
"A North Dakota man who is styling himself as 'American's first sightless gunslinger' is claiming to be the victim of discrimination because Minnesota won't give a blind man a permit to carry a gun in public.
"Carey McWilliams, 33, of Fargo says he carries one anyway when he crosses the state line because his Utah permit is accepted in Minnesota. Any use of his gun, he said, would be a response to an assault and wouldn't put anyone other than his attacker in jeopardy. 'It would be self-defense, at point-blank range, with ammo that doesn't go any further than the assailant,' McWilliams said Tuesday.
"In neighboring Moorhead, MN, Clay County Sheriff Bill Berquist said he didn't feel he had a choice but to deny the permit application. 'I had to sign something saying he could 'safely' whatever, and I felt I couldn't say that of someone who's legally blind,' Bergquist said. 'The shooting he's done in the past was with the help of someone. When confronted, he wouldn't have that help. The application states that a person should be able to show proficiency on the firing range and a proficiency of the weapons,' he said. 'That's the issue.' "
The floor is open to comments....
Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Wednesday May 16
"A North Dakota man who is styling himself as 'American's first sightless gunslinger' is claiming to be the victim of discrimination because Minnesota won't give a blind man a permit to carry a gun in public.
"Carey McWilliams, 33, of Fargo says he carries one anyway when he crosses the state line because his Utah permit is accepted in Minnesota. Any use of his gun, he said, would be a response to an assault and wouldn't put anyone other than his attacker in jeopardy. 'It would be self-defense, at point-blank range, with ammo that doesn't go any further than the assailant,' McWilliams said Tuesday.
"In neighboring Moorhead, MN, Clay County Sheriff Bill Berquist said he didn't feel he had a choice but to deny the permit application. 'I had to sign something saying he could 'safely' whatever, and I felt I couldn't say that of someone who's legally blind,' Bergquist said. 'The shooting he's done in the past was with the help of someone. When confronted, he wouldn't have that help. The application states that a person should be able to show proficiency on the firing range and a proficiency of the weapons,' he said. 'That's the issue.' "
The floor is open to comments....
Stop by - I tagged you.
ReplyDeleteDid the gentleman do the same thing when he was refused a driver's license?
ReplyDeleteWow.
ReplyDeleteOK, I'm speaking as a gun owner, and someone very well trained in the handling of guns. (law enf. training, and a very thorough fundamental training by a very concerned cousin who didn't want to see me dead.)
So....that said:
It's not discrimination. It's common sense, which the blind man lacks.
OK, so an attacker would not expect a blind man to have a gun, however, what if the blind man actually has a free hand and pulls the gun, and just as he pulls the trigger the assailant moves, or sees the gun, or what have you? Where will that round go?
It is VERY IMPORTANT for someone who is carrying, in the event of its actual use, to consider not just the target but the backdrop. A playground? A crowd?
Besides...if it doesn't have a lot of power, it won't stop the attacker, who will just get ticked and take the gun from the man, use it against him and anyone else he can find.
Now I know another reason never to live in Utah...whoever gave a blind man a permit to carry has lost his mind, and if he still has any authority to make such dumbass decisions he needs to also have that authority pulled. And that of the authority over his head and his head until someone intellingent can be found to either merge that state into another one or take it over himself and pull all the permits given to the blind.
That's insane.