NRA releases video advocating for blind people buying guns, deletes it

WASHINGTON, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- The National Rifle Association (NRA) found themselves in the hot seat again after releasing a video advocating for blind people having guns.

The video, an installment of NRA News, was quickly deleted, but the gun control advocacy group Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense In America preserved the footage before it was removed.

In the video, U.S. Navy Seal Dom Raso told viewers if they haven't considered gun rights for the blind, they "don't take [their] rights seriously enough."

"Do you think that because they're blind, they're going to start shooting in every direction and kill everyone? Are you envisioning the person waving the gun around, or pointing it at anyone for no reason?" he continued. "Do you think you need to see where you're shooting if someone is on top of you, trying to kill or rape you?"

Raso said that an Iowan sheriff who refused to give gun permits to the blind was violating the rights of the visually impaired.

Advocates for the blind were not pleased with the NRA's tactic.

"This video is not only disturbing but also misleading and they are using individuals who are visually impaired in a cynical attempt to further their extremist position on gun control," former Perkins School for the Blind President Steven Rothstein told Boston.com.

Massachusetts attorney general candidate Warren Tolman also spoke out against the campaign.

"The fact that the NRA would exploit blind people to push their extreme agenda with this insensitive video is just wrong," said Tolman.