Firearms and Dementia

[Perknose]

Don't shoot! How Do You Convince A Loved One To Give Up Their Guns?

"Families of people with dementia will often take away the car keys to keep their family member safe. They might remove knobs from stove burners or lock up medicine.

But what's less talked about is the risk of guns in the home for those with dementia.

That's a growing problem, as the U.S. population gets older and the number of people with dementia soars. According to the Alzheimer's Association, that number is expected to double in the next 20 years to about 14 million — the vast majority over the age of 65.

Researchers also estimate that nearly half of people over 65 either own a gun or live in a household with someone who does. Given those statistics, people who work with dementia patients are trying to raise awareness and make gun safety a top priority for families."

^^^ Will the hysterically fearful gun slobberers of the NRA prevent this looming crisis from being addressed in a sanely proactive manner?

 

[Muse]

Yes, I think you can depend on the NRA to resist gun control on most fronts, probably this one too. Speaking for myself, I'm for limiting access to guns across the board, I don't care how sane and functional you are unless you are specifically vetted, trained and monitored.

Almost half of the guns owned by individuals on planet earth are owned by Americans. This is a dangerous country, I don't care where you are, you are NOT SAFE!

 

[Paladin3]

This is nothing new, and responsible gun owners have been dealing with this issue for generations and generations. If lucky, a gun owner will be of sound mind right up until their death (peacefully, in bed, at a ripe ol' age), but it's the family's responsibility to decide when guns are "handed down" to the next generation if grandpa can't be trusted to own them safely.

But, in reality, does it always happen? About as often as people take the car keys away from grandpa or grandma when they become a danger on the road. And we NEVER see an old person on the road who shouldn't be driving, now do we?

Whether we are talking about the right to own a gun, drive a car or anything else that could be potentially dangerous, the question becomes who decides when the individual is no longer capable of exercising that right or privilege. Since gun ownership is a constitutional right, it must be decided in a court of law via due process if the family can't or won't do the right thing when the time comes.

 

[pmv]

To be honest, this problems is not really addressed when it comes to cars. Many examples of elderly people driving when their families know they aren't fit to do so (e.g. they can't actually see or they are indeed suffering from dementia), often with disastrous results, but, at least here in the UK, there's little legal way of stopping them. Legally they can essentially just self-certify that they are fit to drive. There really ought to be rigorous medical evaluations for drivers once you reach a certain age. Could cover guns as well, in the US.

Oh yea, execpt for your massively-overrated Constitution, which rather randomly protects gun-owners but not car-users. Will never get why Americans venerate their deeply-flawed poltiical system so much, as if the founding fathers were representatives of God himself rather than a bunch of self-interested wealthy white guys. Yes here much of the population are sycophantic towards the Royal Family and the rest of it, but at least it's largely a conservative thing, and isn't shared across the whole political spectrum.

 

[shortylickens]

Does anyone else think this post is ironic coming from Perknose?

 

[JSt0rm]

This is nothing new, and responsible gun owners have been

no true scotsman rears its ugly head yet again.

 

[imported_tajmahal]

Will the slobbering asshole suckers of the far left make this non crisis a talking point? Indeed they will as already proven by a resident slobberer.

 

[JSt0rm]

Will the slobbering asshole suckers of the far left make this non crisis a talking point? Indeed they will as already proven by a resident slobberer.

is this supposed to be english?

 

[Victorian Gray]

Will the slobbering asshole suckers of the far left make this non crisis a talking point? Indeed they will as already proven by a resident slobberer.

Drunk already?

 

[sandorski]

The ONLY way to stop a Bad Dementia Sufferer with a gun is a Good Dementia Sufferer with a gun.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Don’t have anyone in my life where this would be a concern but I assume you’d handle it like driving.
“Hey Dad I think it’s best I hang on to your guns, we’ll go to the range together”
or if he’s too gone just remove them like you’d do with car keys
“You lost your car keys again...”
or the classic, sabotage the car then tell him it’s totalled car can’t be fixed.

 

[Pipeline 1010]

To be honest, this problems is not really addressed when it comes to cars.

It kind of is, at least in California. People over 70 must renew their license in person. I imagine this included a written driving test and an eyesight test.

I could see something similar come into play with some type of a gun-owner license system. We could even gradually increase the requirements with age. Like over 70, need to do test A. Over 75, test A + test B.

 

[Perknose]

Does anyone else think this post is ironic coming from Perknose?

I'm not the scared little pussy who pull his pistol, shot and missed from 10 feet away in a Hooters parking lot, because the guy pissed with you didn't like that you bothering the wait staff.

 

[imported_tajmahal]

is this supposed to be english?

Yes, but i have to admit i fell for click bait from the resident asshole troll. The topic is a total non issue and I should have just skipped it. My mistake for falling for it.

 

[ecogen]

Yes, but i have to admit i fell for click bait from the resident asshole troll. The topic is a total non issue and I should have just skipped it. My mistake for falling for it.

Yeah, better get to work on fixing the important issues, like voter fraud. Lmao, fucking lemming.

 

[Greenman]

Everyone I know with elderly parents simply took the firearms from them.

 

[Paratus]

@Perknose makes a good point that responsible gun owners should be aware.

When they say they will never be irresponsible with a weapon the unspoken assumption is they will always be of sound mind when handling a weapon. The problem is people are not sound of mind at all times.

People become:

• ill
• inebriated
• angry
• depressed
• scared
• distracted
• exhausted

Then mix that mental state with a firearm and accidents become much more likely.

 

[Muse]

Oh yea, execpt for your massively-overrated Constitution, which rather randomly protects gun-owners but not car-users. Will never get why Americans venerate their deeply-flawed poltiical system so much, as if the founding fathers were representatives of God himself rather than a bunch of self-interested wealthy white guys. Yes here much of the population are sycophantic towards the Royal Family and the rest of it, but at least it's largely a conservative thing, and isn't shared across the whole political spectrum.

Good for you, speak your mind about this crazy as fuck so-called republic, the dis-united states of America. I'll type in a cool section of the tongue in cheek imagining being Thomas Jefferson, writer of the redoubtable Declaration of Independence, imagined writing a forward to Jon Stewart etc.'s book America, "A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction":

"I was also looking forward to this opportunity to dispel some of the mythology surrounding myself and my fellow Founders -- particularly the myth of our infallibility. You moderns have a tendency to worship at the alter of the Fathers. "The First Amendment is sacrosanct!" "We will die to protect the Second Amendment!" So dramatic. Do you know why we called them amendments? Because they amend! They fix mistakes or correct omissions and they themselves can be changed. If we had meant for the Constitution to be written in stone we would have written it in stone. Most things were written in stone back then, you know. I'm not trying to be difficult but it's bothersome when you blame your own inflexibility and extremism on us."

 

[Muse]

This:

 

[shortylickens]

Everyone I know with elderly parents simply took the firearms from them.

Yeah if you're able to take them away then they probably arent fit to have them.

I think the concern here is all the old coots with no family, or no close family, who might walk around shooting people at random.
Interestingly, this is one of the gun issues in America thats not actually a real problem. All the recent shootings were by relatively young, relatively fit, very mentally disturbed people. In one case an Army major who managed to wipe out several people who were actually on a gun range with loaded weapons in-hand.
Even without the insanity, we should be more worried about Nazis and drug-runners than senior citizens.

 

[pmv]

Good for you, speak your mind about this crazy as fuck so-called republic, the dis-united states of America. I'll type in a cool section of the tongue in cheek imagining being Thomas Jefferson, writer of the redoubtable Declaration of Independence, imagined writing a forward to Jon Stewart etc.'s book America, "A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction":

"I was also looking forward to this opportunity to dispel some of the mythology surrounding myself and my fellow Founders -- particularly the myth of our infallibility. You moderns have a tendency to worship at the alter of the Fathers. "The First Amendment is sacrosanct!" "We will die to protect the Second Amendment!" So dramatic. Do you know why we called them amendments? Because they amend! They fix mistakes or correct omissions and they themselves can be changed. If we had meant for the Constitution to be written in stone we would have written it in stone. Most things were written in stone back then, you know. I'm not trying to be difficult but it's bothersome when you blame your own inflexibility and extremism on us."

Thank you for that, as I actually regretted that comment, on the basis it was unfair on the US left, such as it is (and underplayed how fundamentally ridiculous much of UK/European political structures are). It does, though, honestly seem to me that the US system is creaking at the seams, because it was designed for an overwhelmingly rural country, with 18th century technology and a much lower and less diverse population... but was also designed to be incredibly hard to change.

 

[Muse]

Don’t have anyone in my life where this would be a concern but I assume you’d handle it like driving.
“Hey Dad I think it’s best I hang on to your guns, we’ll go to the range together”
or if he’s too gone just remove them like you’d do with car keys
“You lost your car keys again...”
or the classic, sabotage the car then tell him it’s totalled car can’t be fixed.

I don't know that anyone in my family or extended family has ever possessed a firearm. Of course, it's likely I just don't know about it!

My parents gave up driving on their own volition AFAIK.

As families go, mine is very straight up.

 

[Muse]

Thank you for that, as I actually regretted that comment, on the basis it was unfair on the US left, such as it is (and underplayed how fundamentally ridiculous much of UK/European political structures are). It does, though, honestly seem to me that the US system is creaking at the seams, because it was designed for an overwhelmingly rural country, with 18th century technology and a much lower and less diverse population... but was also designed to be incredibly hard to change.

I watched PBS news the other night (something I've rarely done), and they had a 5-10 minute piece where they interviewed a UK denizen about the Brexit stuff going on now. After ~2/3 of it my eyes glazed over and I was going to sleep. I tried to grasp it, but the complexity of his explanations were way too much for me. Granted, I was pretty much at my bedtime and I've been sleep/health challenged what with the historically bad air quality in the region the last 10 days. European politics at least with respect to Brexit are pretty opaque to me. They said that 51% voted for exit and 54% are now against it in polls but Theresa May has her heals dug in against another referendum. Why, I don't know, but that's below the level of understanding I have, which is surface at best.

I like your characterization of the dinosaur political structure of the USA.

 

[blackangst1]

The NRA supports, and has supported, mental health to be included in background checks

https://www.nraila.org/articles/20130124/mental-health-and-firearms

 

[Jhhnn]

Will the slobbering asshole suckers of the far left make this non crisis a talking point? Indeed they will as already proven by a resident slobberer.

Speaking of dementia...