A 2011 amendment to Iowa’s gun control law requires a sheriff to issue a permit to carry a gun to an applicant unless the applicant is disqualified for any of six enumerated reasons.  None of these disqualifies an applicant who is unable to see.

One Iowa county has issued weapons permits to individuals “who can’t legally drive and were unable to read the application forms or had difficulty doing so because of visual impairments,” according to DesMoinesRegister.com. Another sheriff said he “would not hesitate” to deny an application submitted by a blind individual, according to that same report.

Adding a federal aspect to the debate, a disability rights organization in Iowa claims that to deny a gun permit to blind individuals may violate the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to a Findlaw report.

Earlier this year, in an interview reported in huffingtonpost.com, blind singer Stevie Wonder, a critic of lax gun control laws, is quoted as saying “I was talking to one of my friends and I said, ‘You know what? You should go get me a gun or me go with you to get a gun and then show how easy it is for me to get a gun. Imagine me with a gun. It’s just crazy.” 

More to come on this one, undoubtedly.