Should Charlton Heston have to give up his guns?

[Don Vito Corleone]

See this item and this - apparently, under California law, NRA president (and former Moses!) Charlton Heston may be required to surrender his guns if his doctor determines he is mentally incompetent due to his apparent senile dementia/Alzheimer's.

I think this is potentially an interesting debate, in that he may literally end up reaching a point where he will continually forget how to operate a gun, making them potentially dangerous to him and others. I sincerely hope for his sake that his disease does not progress to that point, and that he is never found to be mentally unfit, but if he does continue to deteriorate, this will no doubt turn into an occasion for a political debate between the NRA and the state of California. I certainly do not think he could lawfully be compelled to give them up simply on the basis that he might ultimately be found unfit, but once he has been medically determined to be incompetent, there is a real constitutional question IMO. Apparently his attorneys have already begun to argue on his behalf that he should be allowed to keep them.

What do you think?

 

[FoBoT]

i think his family needs to step in and handle the situation, just like Ronald Reagan's family has taken care of him

 

[Martin]

This should be interesting. Maybe his hands won't be cold and dead when they take his guns away.

 

[AU Tiger]

I too believe his family should address the matter.

 

[LordJezo]

The NRA promotes gun saftey.

If Heston can not safely operate / handle / own a gun I think he would do the right thing and surrender them.

 

[OutHouse]

or give them to a family member.

 

[Hammer]

I don't think he'll give them up without a fight.

 

[Jzero]

True quote from my own mother:

Did you hear that ummmm..... ehhhh...... uhhh....... whats-his-name has Alzheimer's?

ROFL

 

[CPA]

I wonder if the ADA has anything that supercedes the California law.

 

[yellowperil]

Just wondering, has the Supreme Court ever decided on the constitutionality (sic?) of the California law? That would seem to be the best predictor, maybe.

 

[Pliablemoose]

I've worked with many alzheimer's patients, one that ran around repeating the classic lines from Heston's movies would be pretty entertaining...

"Get your hands off me you damn dirty apes."

"Soylent Green is people!!!"

And I'm sure his family will look after him, and ensure his safety needs are met... He had a hell of a run

 

[tcsenter]

What do you think?

I think the dementia/senility associated with a degenerative neurological condition such as Alzheimer's is a very different beast from the 'mental incompetence or instability' that legislators had in mind when they passed such a law. I think the legislative intent was to give authorities a way to remove guns from the homes of mentally unstable people whose mental defect disposes them to paranoid delusions, acts of aggression or violence, not people who forget where they live.

Heston could take a lesson from G. Gordon Liddy. Someone asked Liddy why he is always talking about guns when his felony conviction prohibits him from owning a firearm. Liddy responded "Oh I don't own any guns, not a single one. But Mrs. Liddy owns enough guns to start a small army."

 

[NutBucket]

Unless he is no longer mentally "together", then hell no.

 

[Broncho]

I figure he will talk to his family and tell them that if he gets to the point where they think it would be a danger for him to keep his guns then they should take them. I am sure he would not want to hurt anyone with a firearm in the middle of an alzheimer's occurence. I assume that is also why he went ahead and taped his statement when he did. He wanted to be able to present his thoughts and himself in a dignified way without the distractions that alzheimers might bring. It could get interesting if California tries to step in and take his guns before he has any serious problems.

 

[smartt]

Well, I guess he has a pretty good plea lined up if he shoots someone trying to take his guns. Who'd want to be given that assignment? 'Uh, oh yeah after you collect some speeding tickets.. I need you to go get Charlton Heston's guns. We think he's losing his mind and shouldn't have them anymore.'

 

[Electric Amish]

Who cares??

It's not like he's going to kill anyone important in California...

amish

 

[Tripleshot]

I think the legislative intent was to give authorities a way to remove guns from the homes of mentally unstable people whose mental defect disposes them to paranoid delusions, acts of aggression or violence, not people who forget where they live.

It's obvious you know nothing about Alzheimer's.

 

[tcsenter]

It's obvious you know nothing about Alzheimer's

About as obvious that you know nothing about mental health issues in general.

Alzheimer's patients can become combative, irritated, and abusive. When I did volunteer work at a nursing home, I was punched and bitten a few times by Alzheimer's patients, to say nothing of the verbal abuse and profanity some of them can spew. During my approximately 5 years of operating room experience, I dealt with a fair number of senile patients who needed their hip pinned or femoral head replaced.

Again, this particular manifestation of dementia is a very different from, say, a 25 year-old who is having his first schizophrenic episode and thinks everyone is out to kill him, or that God is commanding him to kill everyone wearing blue jeans because they are a tool of the Devil.

The form of dementia and senility which manifests as a result of Alzheimer's is largely harmless and involves combativeness from confusion, it doesn't result in the type of murderous fantasy delusions that are found with other mental disorders/defects.

 

[Fritzo]

It's OK....he can't remember where he put his guns anymore anyway

:ucking::

 

[Cyberian]

Alzheimer's patients can become combative, irritated, and abusive. When I did volunteer work at a nursing home, I was punched and bitten a few times by Alzheimer's patients, .....

And yet these same people would pose no threat if they had access to firearms?

 

[sandorski]

Gun useage and proper handling he could continue to understand for a long time. If he begins to forget who people are though(depending on many factors), he could begin blowing away family members thinking they are burglars. Only time will tell how bad his condition will become, hopefully he and his family will handle the situation properly so that tragedy or the courts won't need to become involved.

 

[tcsenter]

And yet these same people would pose no threat if they had access to firearms?

Anyone "can" pose a threat if they have access to firearms...or an axe for that matter. Since this is a universal truth, it poses an irrational standard by which to judge anyone's 'potential' for violence.

"Can" and "will" are two different things.

 

[Renob]

Should Charlton Heston have to give up his guns?

Sounds like a dumb question, with a easy answer YES.