A blind man in Indiana was granted permission to carry a concealed handgun, bringing the state's laws concerning arms under scrutiny. Terry Sutherland said he was using his sight-seeing stick when he went to the City-County Building to get fingerprinted for the permit, and he claimed to have spoken with multiple people aware of his blindness, wishTV reported.
Mr Sutherland mentioned that the process was smooth and normal, with no one seeming to question it. He found it mind-boggling and more shocking than he had anticipated. He had expected that, at the last moment, someone might stop and say, "Wait a minute," and his permit would not be approved.
He said he thought he would receive a letter explaining, "You can't aim a gun or put a bullet where it's supposed to go, so we're not going to give you this permit."
Mr Sutherland is not against the second amendment. He said he learned how to use guns responsibly with his family before he lost his sight as a teenager, but he claimed that being able to obtain his permit draws attention to an issue with Indiana's gun laws.
He said in some states, before someone was allowed to carry a gun in public, they must first take a competency test at a shooting range to show they knew how to use the gun safely which should be a requirement in his state as well.
"I think competency with a lethal weapon is the bare minimum we can do," Mr Sutherland said.
Second Amendment advocate and lawyer Guy Relford disagreed with Mr Sutherland's idea. He argued that imposing government restrictions on constitutional rights could be dangerous and inappropriate.
While he acknowledged that people should be trained, he believed society functions better when individuals take personal responsibility and recognise, on their own, the need to be safe and responsible with guns.
He also suggested that Mr Sutherland's proposal might be part of an effort to create an argument for limiting constitutional rights, especially considering that constitutional carry has been in effect since 2022.
In Indiana, anyone over the age of 18 can carry guns in public, concealed or not, without a permit. While people in Indiana don't need a permit to own or carry a gun, having a license to carry allows them to take it to other states where permits are required.
Mr Sutherland stated that all he wanted was rational gun laws that protected people. "Why can't I get a driver's license if I can have a gun? What's the worst that could happen? I could kill somebody with a car," he said.
Terry Sutherland sent letters to his Statehouse representatives asking if they would discuss laws but he has yet to hear back from them.
