Blind gun owners in Iowa live in a target-rich environment

September 26th, 2013When I lived in Los Angeles, I worked for a property management company and every few months, they would send me to South Central L.A. to patch the bullet holes in old Henry's front door.Henry, who was mostly blind, lived frugally on his Army pension. But he could still afford his run-down apartment in the heart of gang country and he could afford to treat the working girls who walked his street to a glass of whiskey now and again. The word got out that Henry had a little money - which made him a target in that neighborhood and that made him nervous.And, sometimes at night, somebody would try to break into Henry's apartment and he would shoot through the door. He never hit anybody as far as he knew, but it did serve as a warning to would-be burglars. And repairing the bullet holes did provide me with part-time employment.In California, it is illegal for a blind person to carry a gun. Unlike in Iowa. Here, Iowa law prevents county sheriffs from disqualifying gun permit applicants on the basis of their not being able to see their hand in front of their face.The Constitution does not protect a blind person's right to fly a commercial aircraft or even to drive a car. But when it comes to owning and carrying a firearm, we put our hand over our heart and get a patriotic tear in our eye.It's not as if just anybody is allowed to carry a gun. Addiction to drugs or alcohol is a no-no. So is a conviction for domestic violence or a dishonorable discharge from the military. A person diagnosed as "mentally defective" is disqualified from owning a gun. Undocumented immigrants can't be trusted to carry guns. But the Americans With Disabilities Act, authored by Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, prohibits discrimination based on disability, apparently including gun ownership.Anybody wanting a driver's license in this state must first pass a driving test. But the funny thing about the Iowa law is that, although firearms permit applicants must take a gun safety class, they don't have to demonstrate they can actually safely shoot a gun. The Des Moines Register interviewed Michael Barber, who is legally blind, at a local gun shop about the law. "When you shoot a gun, you take it out and point and shoot," he explained. "I don't necessarily think eyesight is necessary."Mr. Barber is right, of course. Seeing and shooting are two separate activities. A gun owner who is blind as a bat could conceivably learn to identify targets, as a bat identifies mosquitoes, by echolocation. Or special seeing eye dogs could be trained like those pointer hunting dogs, not only to help their owners cross busy intersections, but detect threats - just point and shoot. Having the blind populations in Iowa fully armed is sure to make criminals more cautious (and quiet). And pretty much everyone else, too.Didn't Thomas Jefferson once say, "Constant threat of being killed at random is the price of liberty"? Or something like that.