Government

Blind Gun Collector to Have His Weapons Returned: ‘It’s a Hobby and You Know What? It’s His Right’

Steven Hopler, Blind Gun Collector, Due to Have Guns Returned to Him in NJ

(Photo: NJ Star-Ledger)

Steven Hopler, a gun collector who went blind in 1991 as the result of diabetes, is due to have his guns returned to him following a judge’s order Friday in Superior Court in Morristown, NJ.

Originally confiscated after he shot himself in the leg four years ago, allegations have also been leveled that Hopler has something of a drinking problem.

CBS continues:

That episode began a legal battle that wound up in Morris County Superior Court. Prosecutors argued Hopler shouldn’t have guns because he’s a danger. However, a judge ruled otherwise, saying his disability shouldn’t take away his constitutional right to bear arms.

Robert Trautman is Hopler’s attorney, and said police singled out his client.

“The state argued that Steve drinks too much.”  Trautman said.  “It’s just simply that the police didn’t want Steve Hopler to own firearms because he’s blind and they felt that was improper.”

In a statement, the Morris County prosecutor said, “From the outset, there was concern as to whether Mr. Hopler was suitable to possess firearms…we are satisfied that we had our day in court…and no appeals will be filed.”

With the ordeal finally over, Hopler said the victory is about more than guns.

“I wouldn’t say power, [it's] freedom,” he said.

Watch the CBS interview, below:

Hopler denies drinking more than two beers a day, though a former tenant (and admitted thief) claimed Hopler could drink thirty in one night.  His attorney further argues that, just because Hopler accidentally shot himself while cleaning his weapon does not mean he should lose any basic freedoms.

“He’s always enjoyed collecting. When he lost his sight it was just a continuation of what he’d done his whole life,” Trautman said to NJ.com. 

“It’s a hobby and you know what? It’s his right,” he concluded. 

(H/T: Daily Mail)

Comments (40)

1 2
  • MONICNE
    Posted on May 13, 2012 at 8:11pm

    I been everywhere man, crossed the desert sand man, breathed the mountain air man…
    Traveled like I had my share Man… I been everywhere

    TEA – pertains to Tax Justice – LOL

    Report Post » MONICNE  
  • PropstotheGast
    Posted on May 13, 2012 at 3:00pm

    Hollywood Weaver Teacup…….no wonder he shot himself in the leg.

    Report Post »  
  • ICEDRAGONNITE
    Posted on May 13, 2012 at 12:20pm

    I think the Government should reimburse the Gentleman for his legal fees and compensate him for his losses for the effort to enforce his freedoms. He has been penalized by having to pay for legal fees just to do what he was allowed to do under the Constitution. Its the way the Government fines you with out fining you.

    Report Post » ICEDRAGONNITE  
  • Epic Fail
    Posted on May 13, 2012 at 10:39am

    He just needs to move down here to Texas! He could get his CHL!

    Report Post » Epic Fail  
  • spfoam1
    Posted on May 13, 2012 at 10:16am

    Even blind people have the right to defend themselves. Most violent criminals are democrats, so a blind man can easily pinpoint them by smell.

    Report Post »  
  • Sheepdog911
    Posted on May 13, 2012 at 9:40am

    Huh?? “From the outset, there was concern as to whether Mr. Hopler was suitable to possess firearm.” Apparently, the think that there’s some sort of “suitability” clause or codicile to the Second Amendment. There should have been a massive punative payment associated with this violation of both the Second and Fourth Amendments.

    Report Post » Sheepdog911  
    • Caniac Steve
      Posted on May 13, 2012 at 10:43am

      hehehe gee i wonder if the “suitability” clause is like the “scratch & sniff” clause !! see what the PC BS gets ya..took him how many years to get his guns back?? and i betcha that he’ll soend months tearing them all aprt to clean them as the “authorites” just grabed 7 taged them and tossed them in a bin some place..with no regards to the care of them at all..but sadder still if they tore the guns down and apart to where they would be rendered useless..I’d be ticked off and force them cheese wize loving buttheads to replace each one to the exact condtion they were the day they come and gtook them or you had better have 10 million dollar certifed cashiers check in your hands..:-)

      Report Post » Caniac Steve  
    • SgtB
      Posted on May 13, 2012 at 2:06pm

      I‘m in agreement with you and I’ll take it a step further. If a person is charged with a crime and serves time, then when they have paid their dues to society for their transgressions, they should assume all of their basic rights and liberties back. Also, I don’t think that imprisoning a person for 10+ years for selling drugs is right either. The punishment should fit the crime and a crime is only something that you do to another person through force or coercion. Also, if a crime is so bad that as a society we don’t believe that person should ever have a vote or the right to protect himself, then that person should just receive the death penalty instead thereby saving us the cost of supporting them and saving the inhuman person from the torture of imprisonment without any hope of release.

      Report Post » SgtB  
  • tajloc
    Posted on May 13, 2012 at 9:31am

    This is a good time to write about the limits of Am. #2. These comments might reflect conversations in our country about the time the Bill of Rights were added. Shout we be able to own automatic weapons? How about suppressors? Can a crazy man carry? When should a kid be able to carry?
    I am not trying to challenge #2 but all of the above can be handled by an aggressive, interested, motivated local populace.
    I just went down to my neighbors and stopped their 14 yr old from plinking ‘cuz an occasional 22LR went spinning over our house. Am I against him learning about guns? No. (I guess I am glad he is not blind…joke)
    We must be vigilant not just rely on the Bill of Rights. They have not done well for us. In the same vein I am not for term limits. Think about it…we have term limits. Just vote’em out.
    I am pretty sure Paul understands this edge. Do you?
    Rom 8:28

    Report Post »  
    • SgtB
      Posted on May 13, 2012 at 2:13pm

      So what you are saying is that because your neighbor was too dumb to teach his kid about proper range safety protocols and backstop geometries, we all should suffer? Or are you saying that we shouldn’t own automatic weapons? You do know that the colonists at Lexington and Concord started the Revolutionary War (a.k.a. the First American Civil War) because their government took from them their town cannons right? We as individuals have the right of self defense and it doesn‘t come from the 2nd or whatever your or anyone else’s opinion of the subject is. I could buy a lathe and a reloading station right now and make .50 cal rifles and ammunition at the cyclic rate and you shouldn’t have a single thing to say about it. The only thing you should object to is IF (and that is a big IF) I ever used those weapons to harm, force, or coerce you. Things that a devout Libertarian wouldn’t generally do.

      Report Post » SgtB  
    • Sine labore nihil
      Posted on May 14, 2012 at 2:43pm

      Just as an FYI, you can legally purchase automatic weapons and silencers (I own a few myself). I believe that all kids should be taught gun safety, just because you don’t own a gun does not mean that, your child will never have one in their possession.

      Report Post »  
  • SweetDoug
    Posted on May 13, 2012 at 9:00am

    Who’d a ever thunk it?

    Conservative Liberals! Liberals gun grabbers using conservative tactics to bully!

    And who among us hasn’t mixed a guns and alcohol?!

    I say, “Don’t knock it, until you’ve tried it!”

    •∆•
    V-V

    Report Post » SweetDoug  
  • dnewton
    Posted on May 13, 2012 at 8:55am

    So, if you are blind in one eye, do they just take half of them? I feel safer with a blind man owning them than with Holder giving them to Mexican banditos.

    Report Post »  
  • piper60
    Posted on May 13, 2012 at 8:07am

    Congrats Steve. Guard your rights with your life. Otherwise the jackbooted thugs, which I daily hear coming down the street, will gladly take them away.

    Report Post » piper60  
  • Magyar
    Posted on May 13, 2012 at 6:18am

    NJ is little better than NY, Mass, Ct when it comes to guns. While you may own a gun, getting a NJ consealed carry permit is as likely as OWEbama being a honest! This case was a must win for gun owners….

    Once guns are out of our hands–it would be a Marxist free for all! While ROM-bama supports restrictions, he wouldn’t dare screw with the 2nd!

    NOBAMA in 2012!

    Report Post »  
  • Endstatism
    Posted on May 13, 2012 at 5:50am

    There was more than just violation of his Second Amendment rights. His property was seized without due process or just compensation. If the government can seize someone`s firearms without prior due process, it becomes only a small step to confiscate more substantial property. Had Hopler not contested this in court, his collection would have been destroyed without him recieving one cent in just compensation as the Constitution dictates.

    The real dangerous person in all this is the Morris County prosecutor. He should be ordered to attend classes on the Second, Fourth and Fifth Amendments. In fact this a–clown should never be allowed to be in a position of power.

    Report Post » Endstatism  
    • loriann12
      Posted on May 13, 2012 at 8:52am

      Seizing property is the reason I hesitate to register my generator. All they have to do is go to the companies that sell generators, look up who registered for the one year warranty, then go seize all of them. It’s the same thing on water usage. If they monitor who uses water and how much, and it goes up in the summer, they can figure out who has a garden and seize the produce for the “better of the country.” All the while paying farmers to not plant in order to keep prices high. Yea, sounds like conspiracy theory, and I never believed in that stuff until 2008.

      Report Post »  
  • grannyrecipe
    Posted on May 13, 2012 at 5:00am

    This idea that we are this cute little man made commune thing is really like spending too much time in Jan and Marsha Brady’s bedroom talking about gum and boys at school. Dudes…man up!

    Report Post » grannyrecipe  
  • florida123
    Posted on May 13, 2012 at 4:58am

    If you choose to live in a Gestapo state and do nothing to protect your Constitutional Rights, dont whine and complain when the SS Police are at your door……………….

    Report Post » florida123  
  • FromSeaToSea
    Posted on May 13, 2012 at 1:39am

    “The right of the people to keep and bear arms SHALL NOT be infringed.” James Madison

    The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil Constitution, are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors: they purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood, and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or to be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing men.
    Samuel Adams, founding father, Father of the American Revolution

    Report Post »  
  • toto
    Posted on May 13, 2012 at 1:05am

    So glad it turned out right. We need a few wins like that to make it loud and clear that we will not give give up our right of gun ownership without a fight. Wish every article in which someone advocates for gun laws that take guns away would include the reminder that the Swiss are required to own arms as law and the consequent low crime rate there.

    Report Post »  
  • TheEDGE
    Posted on May 13, 2012 at 12:33am

    Shooting is a precision skill. A buzz is a bad idea with 20/20.

    Report Post » TheEDGE  
    • sasquatch08
      Posted on May 13, 2012 at 6:21am

      Personally I like to have a couple beers while shooting.

      I got the idea from a show about a chef in Las Vegas, he and his buddy, a former SEAL and current (at the time of the show) sheriffs deputy would drink a couple glasses of wine before running CQC drills. The former SEAL pointed out that if you’re one of the millions of people that has 2 drinks a day with dinner, and someone breaks into your house in the middle of the night, the chances that you’re 100% alcohol free are basically 0, so it behooves you to understand how those couple drinks might change your abilities and judgement before your and your families lives are on the line.

      Report Post »  
  • cuinsong
    Posted on May 12, 2012 at 11:56pm

    Any reason they can makeup to take our guns.
    They know that they must take away the guns before they can impose socialism.

    Report Post » cuinsong  
  • Midwest-Gal
    Posted on May 12, 2012 at 11:11pm

    I have a blind bother-law. He has a policeman friend who helped him obtain a pistol. I did not understand why five years ago. But now I do. It is his right!

    Report Post »  
  • Mutiny
    Posted on May 12, 2012 at 10:48pm

    Romney believes gun restriction laws keep citizens safe.

    Report Post » Mutiny  
    • dsind
      Posted on May 13, 2012 at 12:13am

      oh, thanks for that info…….
      i will vote for obama then, THANKS ALOT!
      sarc
      lol

      Report Post »  
    • Teufel Hunden
      Posted on May 13, 2012 at 1:35am

      Gun restriction laws are meant to keep politicians safe. Coward bastards!

      Report Post » Teufel Hunden  
    • burnteye86
      Posted on May 13, 2012 at 5:16am

      What restrictions? You mean like not carrying an Uzi into a bar? Could you be a little more specific? But be careful, we don’t want people deciding to vote for the Marxist instead.

      Report Post » burnteye86  
  • DEFCON4
    Posted on May 12, 2012 at 9:48pm

    This story reminds me of the blind prison guard in Cool Hand Luke………

    Report Post » DEFCON4  
  • MrButcher
    Posted on May 12, 2012 at 9:32pm

    Cheers, Mr. Hopler!

    Report Post » MrButcher  
  • IDONTTHINKSO
    Posted on May 12, 2012 at 9:28pm

    Stealing tips out of the blind guys tip cup and got busted! Good for him.

    Report Post »  
  • korbin
    Posted on May 12, 2012 at 9:20pm

    God bless him. Drinking or not, blind or not the second amendment doesn’t have any exclusions. It’s our false Constitution denying Mayors, police chiefs, congress and the rest of the ANTI Constitutional retards who play games with our rights. GOOD for HIM and the rest of us. A little victory on the false demonization of firearms and legal firearm owners.

    Report Post »  
  • wkw58
    Posted on May 12, 2012 at 9:15pm

    Damned government.

    Congratulations Steve!

    Report Post » wkw58  
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