What's bad about letting blind people hunt?

[GuidoHunter]

So, a Texas lawmaker is trying to get it legal for blind people to hunt. The stipulations? They have to be accompanied by a sighted person, and that person must be the one to aim the gun; the blind person can only hold and shoot the gun.

Link

Under the bill, blind hunters would be required to have a sighted hunter with them and would be allowed to use laser sights and other devices that are currently not allowed.

"A blind person can shoot a rifle by mounting an offset pistol scope on the side of the rifle instead of on top," said Terry Erwin, the Austin-based Hunter Education Coordinator with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

"This allows their companion behind them to peer over their shoulder and help them sight it, but the blind person can pull the trigger," he told Reuters.

I'm elsewhere engaged in a discussion about this, where people are VERY quick to yell "this is a horrible idea" without giving reasons why. So, I'm here. FFR, can y'all give me a good reason why allowing blind people to hunt in accordance with this bill is a bad idea?

I'm holding the assumption that, when given a gun, blind people don't turn into blithering idiots with no capacity for reason. That is, they aren't going to irresponsibly be shooting in random directions without the guidance of a sighted person; they will be acting in accordance with the law.

Also, people who don't see the necessity for such a law: don't even start. It isn't germane here, and there is PLENTY of reason for it to exist.

--Guido

http://andy.mikee385.com

[Tokzic]

Re: What's bad about letting blind people hunt?

Whose fault is it if the blind man shoots someone?

[GuidoHunter]

Re: What's bad about letting blind people hunt?

Whose fault is it if the blind man shoots someone?

Clearly the sighted man's, since he aimed the gun at another person. But do you honestly think that would happen among hunters?

--Guido

http://andy.mikee385.com

[powerdown]

Re: What's bad about letting blind people hunt?

Clearly the sighted man's, since he aimed the gun at another person. But do you honestly think that would happen among hunters?

--Guido

http://andy.mikee385.com

There are multiple things that can go wrong while hunting. Some take place within the forest, others are human error (such as improper sighting of the gun i.e. zeroing it in so it hits where you want). Others can be just reflex, I for one know I still jump alittle bit when I fire my rifle.

Now, as for the whole letting blind people hunt thing, it seems kind of pointless. One of the joys of hunting is being able to take you kill, mount it, and admire it. Being unable to look at it, the blind person has no need to shoot it. Then again at the same time, others could enjoy it, but as said before, whats the point in killing an animal for sport if you cant see it? I know someone is gonna come back and say "You can eat the animal, use its fur, etc." Just leave that out of it and think of the whole asthetic aspect of the whole thing.

[Tokzic]

Re: What's bad about letting blind people hunt?

Clearly the sighted man's, since he aimed the gun at another person. But do you honestly think that would happen among hunters?

--Guido

http://andy.mikee385.com

Not "clearly the sighted man's". The blind man could have moved the gun in between the time he hears the go-command and the time he takes his shot. Since they're obviously not going to be at point-blank range, it's going to be a lot easier to miss. Besides, my point was that in court, I'm pretty sure the blind man would be the one taking the hit.

Frankly, I don't see why blind people would want to hunt anyway. It's like being blind and wanting to be an art critic except this is barely possible.

[Afrobean]

Re: What's bad about letting blind people hunt?

What's bad about letting blind people hunt?

They might kill something. OH WAIT THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE TRYING FOR LOL

[dsadsadsa]

Re: What's bad about letting blind people hunt?

what's the fun in just pulling the trigger...

I'd rather figure out how to play FFR blind...

BBR

[GuidoHunter]

Re: What's bad about letting blind people hunt?

There are multiple things that can go wrong while hunting. Some take place within the forest, others are human error (such as improper sighting of the gun i.e. zeroing it in so it hits where you want).

First of all, these have nothing to do with someone's being blind; they are inherent issues for anyone who hunts.

Others can be just reflex, I for one know I still jump alittle bit when I fire my rifle.

The blind man could have moved the gun in between the time he hears the go-command and the time he takes his shot.

And these are just laughable. Whenever someone lets go of the gun or you pull the trigger, the gun doesn't swing ninety degrees to a side. No, it barely moves. If someone hits a person for either of these reasons, it's because the sighted person aimed the gun at someone or at a target RIGHT beside someone. This just doesn't happen in hunting. Not a reason.

Besides, my point was that in court, I'm pretty sure the blind man would be the one taking the hit.

Judge: Mister Blindman, according to law, you put all faith and trust into your partner to aim your gun for you. When he told you that you were properly aimed at a target and it was okay to fire, you did. Your bullet then struck the deceased and killed him.

Blindman: Yes, sir, I did believe I was aimed at a target, as I was told.

Judge: Guilty of murder.

Yeah, I'm sure a blind man is going to be convicted of something over which he has little to no control while the man responsible for pointing the gun at someone and telling the other to shoot goes free.

pointless drivel about how blind people can't enjoy hunting.

more pointless drivel about how blind people can't like things

I'm hungry. How about some copypasta?

I took special interest in this thread because of my ME senior design projects. Every year, the disabled community comes to SMU to present us with possible projects. They are all requests that come straight from people with disabilities, issues that people really want addressed.

One young guy came here and explained to us his organization: Turning Point. All they do is find ways to make outdoor activities available to people with disabilities, namely paraplegics. You may think "well, the last think that I would want to do if I couldn't use my legs is go do lake activities," but plenty of people out there do.

My friends are designing a system to adapt and stabilize a kayak so that paraplegics can use it. At their proposal presentation, they got ripped into by another guy who thought their skills should be going toward more "necessary" things, but was quickly shut up by the Turning Point guy, who had to tell him about the thousands of people who are usually confined indoors who want to get out and at least partake in outdoor activities, at any level.

Just getting out and being able to do things that blind people normally aren't able to do is a fantastic thing. On top of that, these people can enjoy hunting, too. Being told "oh, no, you'll only kill someone" is not only insulting, but demeaning. These people constantly live with reminders that they can't enjoy many things that others can, so when we go out of our way to allow them to get out more and engage in completely safe activities, and you say they shouldn't be able to because you don't think you'd want to or you think they'd do something absurdly stupid, that's just plumb ignorant of the feelings of others.

--Guido

http://andy.mikee385.com

[RandomPscho]

Re: What's bad about letting blind people hunt?

(Blind person dialog)

"Hmmm, I am so happy they are finally allowing me to hunt!!!"

(some squirrels make a noise in the bushes)

"Oh, is that going to be my first kill?!"

(He starts walking towards the noise.)

"I think I should take off the safety so I will be able to shoot the gun."

(He does. Then while walking over to the noise, there is an unseen tree root that the guy trips over, falls on top of the gun in his hand, which fires and blows his head off.)

[GuidoHunter]

Re: What's bad about letting blind people hunt?

what's the fun in just pulling the trigger...

What part of

Also, people who don't see the necessity for such a law: don't even start. It isn't germane here, and there is PLENTY of reason for it to exist.

Didn't y'all seem to understand?

--Guido

http://andy.mikee385.com

[spyke252]

Re: What's bad about letting blind people hunt?

Well. Putting the possibility of manslaughter out of the way, I see no reason for this to be a problem.

However, there are still a lot of issues. For example, deer hunters sometimes use tree stands to hunt. If the blind person falls, will it be the blind person's fault or the guide's?

[GuidoHunter]

Re: What's bad about letting blind people hunt?

That's not even an issue related to the bill. Whether or not they should be able to hunt has no bearing on whether or not they fall out of a blind.

They can already be up in a blind, bill or no bill.

--Guido

http://andy.mikee385.com

[Squeek]

Re: What's bad about letting blind people hunt?

Tell me why blind people want to hunt in the first place, so much that a LAW has to be put up for approval?

I mean, being blind probably isn't the most fun in the world and not being able to do things most people can do probably sucks, but personally I'd feel safer without the gun in the hands of a person who cannot see.

[talisman]

Re: What's bad about letting blind people hunt?

if they want to hunt, let them hunt. the sighted partner thing sounds reasonable to me. If they move the weapon after it's been sighted, then that's there fault. Otherwise any harm done is on the fault of the aimer. Pretty straightforward.

[Shashakiro]

Re: What's bad about letting blind people hunt?

I see no logical reason to oppose this, so long as the presence of the guide is strictly enforced.