Firing Back: Blind Man Fighting to Get Guns Back

The Associated Press via NJ.com is reporting that Steven Hopler is in a legal fight to get his guns back, after the items were stolen during a burglary of his home last year. The reason this is an interesting case is the Mr. Hopler is actually blind.

This brings up the obvious question, why does a blind man need a gun, or more accurately guns? But let’s take a step back and consider that Mr. Hopler paid for these items, and won permission in 1994 to buy the guns and shoot them under supervision. According to reports, he has been blind from complications from diabetes, so how much sight he actually has is also debatable.

The man has lost his vision, and had his items stolen from his home. Now authorities says he’s a danger to public safety because he didn’t do a better job of protecting the weapons? Maybe the police should have done a better job of protecting a blind man!

Finally, this is about property. The items were recovered by authorities so these should be returned to Mr. Hopler. They are his items, and stolen property is generally returned. That’s the right thing to do.