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Blind Man Gets Concealed Weapons Permit in North Dakota

Jan 3, 2001 - 11:30 AM The Associated Press

FARGO, N.D. (AP) - Carey McWilliams has a concealed weapons permit from the state of North Dakota and isn't afraid to use a gun - even though he's blind. McWilliams, a 27-year-old North Dakota State University graduate student, says the permit, issued in September, is for protection.

"If you choose this blind victim, you might end up dead," McWilliams said. "I don't want to shoot anybody, but an assailant's life is not an issue with me."

McWilliams' sight is limited to light perception, which means he can tell night from day. He says he has been blind since he was 10.

In North Dakota, applicants for concealed weapons permits must pay a fee, undergo a background check and pass written and shooting exams, said Pat Healey, a Cass County sheriff's deputy who administers permit tests.

"He completed the background check, so the county and city were comfortable with him getting the permit," Healey said.

Applicants must put 10 shots in a row in a black silhouette target from 7 yards away. Healey said McWilliams was allowed to get his bearings on the target before shooting and put nine of 10 in the black the first time around, and the required 10 of 10 on the re-shoot.

McWilliams added a few more shots as exclamation points, and the target now hangs on his living room wall.

Healey said McWilliams was "very competent" with a handgun.

"I don't see a problem with him doing it. People who are challenged that way compensate nicely. They can be as reliable with a weapon as anybody," he said.

Concealed weapons are not allowed in bars, shopping malls, churches, schools or any public gathering place, including North Dakota State University.

"I told him to be real cautious," Healey said. "A whole new world of liability goes with this, for anyone with a permit."

McWilliams, who plans to work in public relations for the National Rifle Association after graduation, has 10 guns. He said he has gone parasailing and scuba diving and served as a search-and-rescue communications officer.

"I get ticked off when people say I can't do something because I'm blind without giving me the chance," he said.

McWilliams' friend Kathy Steffan said her first response when he told her he would seek the permit was, "You're going to blow away the Avon Lady."

Steffan said it is hard for most people to understand how vulnerable McWilliams can feel.

"We think he can't aim," she said. "The fact that somebody might have his fingers around Carey's throat doesn't enter our heads."

-- Anonymous, January 03, 2001

Answers

And don't mess with his dog, either....

-- Anonymous, January 03, 2001

So I guess the consensus is that people with disabilities shouldn't be allowed to defend themselves.

-- Anonymous, January 07, 2001

Chicken Little,

If anything has been exposed by this election, it's the completely different way that us folks from more "rural" states view things, as opposed to those from more "urban" areas.

Perfect example: we were eating at a local barbeque joint today and in walks a guy with a pistol on his hip. He's not a cop; he's just a guy wearing a gun.

In some parts of the country, sirens would go off, people would scream, mummies would hide their little chillunz and the cops would surround the place. Why? "Cuz he's got a GUN!!!"

No one paid much attention to it here. In fact, Sandy turned and looked and me and said, "that's comforting. If some maniac comes in here and tries to start blowing everyone up, we have at least one guy in here who could shoot back."

It's a difference in attitude that I never gave much thought before this past November. But you know ... there are people who see pickup trucks with gun racks in the back and don't just think, "Redneck!", they think, "dangerous! It should be stopped! Oh, no!"

I have a very difficult time thinking that way (even though I don't personally carry a gun).

-- Anonymous, January 07, 2001

SMP -- I'm with Sandy's way of thinking. And I'm from bygod North Carolina (as you know).

-- Anonymous, January 07, 2001