I'd get any gun that your friend likes, rajb123. Then teach 'em to shoot by looking over the slide and not necessarily the sights at the usual self defense ranges of 10 yards and closer.
I wear progressive trifocals and when shooting pocket guns I do just fine by lining up the top of the slide with the target. The top of the slide will be blurry, but it is much easier to line up than some of those tiny pocket gun sights.
Lasers are okay too, but I find them to be difficult for some people to use if their hand strength isn't what it used to be. I say that because the laser will wander quite a bit when pulling through a long trigger pull with some people. In a situation like that, it seems easier just to align the gun. However, if the shooter wants a laser it will do the job.