[Bromikka]

http://www.wesh.com/news/14437963/detail.html

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- A Gainesville man's lack of sight didn't stop him from defending his home from an intruder.

According to police, Cevaughn Curtis Jr., 28, broke into Arthur Williams' house in Gainesville at around 3 a.m.

Curtis, police said, knocked on the door, asked to be let inside but Williams refused. Curtis then tried to force his way into the home.

The 75-year-old retired taxi dispatcher, who's been legally blind for the past 61 years, opened fire on the would-be-thief who kicked down his door, police said.

Police said Williams shot Curtis, who tried to flee but collapsed on the front porch, inthe left side of the neck. He was taken to a hospital in stable condition.

Police said Curtis was charged with burglary of an occupied residence and battery on a person over the age of 65.

Officials are praising Williams for protecting himself.

[Unlinozistimi]

Should legally blind citizens be allowed to own a gun?

[Bromikka]

Should legally blind citizens be allowed to own a gun?

Maybe not but I'm not going to try and get it off him. He's like Zatoichi's Grandad.

[Scukonah]

Should legally blind citizens be allowed to own a gun?

Probably not. Although legally blind doesn't mean he can't see at all; just that he has poor vision. He could probably see well enough to make out the person.

[Marc Spilkintin]

A person can be "legally blind" yet at the same time have corrective lenses that give him 20/20 vision or as close as they can get considering how bad his eye site is. I used to know someone who was "legally blind" w/out his glasses that he wore. With this guy though it sounds though like he was blind to the point where he could prolly make out shapes, and in that case i think considering the distance between the two, thats all he needs to be able to shoot the person who's trying to break into his home.

[Scukonaher]

he probably used a corrective scope.

[aburva.org]

With this guy though it sounds though like he was blind to the point where he could prolly make out shapes, and in that case i think considering the distance between the two, thats all he needs to be able to shoot the person who's trying to break into his home.

You you think people who can hardly see should be able to own guns? That's stupid IMO, what if he ends up shooting an innocent party?

[Enliseell]

You you think people who can hardly see should be able to own guns? That's stupid IMO, what if he ends up shooting an innocent party?

And what if he ends up shooting a guilty party? Oh wait, that's what happened![surrender]

I think he should be allowed to have his guns at home, but he probably wouldn't think it would be a good idea to carry it with him in a crowded public place. And like someone said, he may have corrective lenses that let him see decently. My friend has been legally blind without his glasses since before high school, and he can see fine with his glasses or contacts. No reason to discriminate against him...

[majestictwelve]

Legally blind, whats that all about? Is there such a thing as "illegally blind" and can you get arrested for it?

[Enliseell]

Legally blind, whats that all about? Is there such a thing as "illegally blind" and can you get arrested for it?

Legally blind as opposed to being able to have a certain level of vision without corrective lenses. It's different than actual blindness in that you can see, but not above a certain level to be useful or safe without corrective lenses (or worse, according to the wikipedia entry)

In order to determine which people may need special assistance because of their visual disabilities, various governmental jurisdictions have formulated more complex definitions referred to as legal blindness.[2] In North America and most of Europe, legal blindness is defined as visual acuity (vision) of 20/200 (6/60) or less in the better eye with best correction possible. This means that a legally blind individual would have to stand 20 feet (6 m) from an object to see it with the same degree of clarity as a normally sighted person could from 200 feet (60 m). In many areas, people with average acuity who nonetheless have a visual field of less than 20 degrees (the norm being 180 degrees) are also classified as being legally blind. Approximately ten percent of those deemed legally blind, by any measure, have no vision. The rest have some vision, from light perception alone to relatively good acuity. Low vision is sometimes used to describe visual acuities from 20/70 to 20/200. [1] So they define it as 20/200 or worse with correction, so that's pretty bad there.

[Flistelib]

You you think people who can hardly see should be able to own guns? That's stupid IMO, what if he ends up shooting an innocent party?

I can't see many innocent parties attempting to gain access to his home in an aggressive manner with force, and those who do deserve what they get.

[dmoiknlasd]

You you think people who can hardly see should be able to own guns? That's stupid IMO, what if he ends up shooting an innocent party?

Its not stupid...someome who is an innocent party wouldn't be breaking into his house and therefore not get shot.

[Marc Spilkintin]

You you think people who can hardly see should be able to own guns? That's stupid IMO, what if he ends up shooting an innocent party?

Doesn't surprise me that you'd say something like that considering your part of the "guns are bad mmkay" uk party. You prolly don't think anyone should have a gun, so you saying that a blind man shouldn't hold a gun holds more more weight then you saying anyone shouldn't own a gun.

[Hpdovoxm]

I think the grandpa cheat with an aimbot