There was a touching article in the July 24 edition of the Boston Globe by titled, “My elderly father had dementia, anger issues, and many guns. What were we to do?” The subtitle: “One underreported aspect of America’s firearms epidemic: armed seniors with memory problems. My family had few legal options for disarming our dad.”
I don’t know how to make it available to you. However, I can provide some useful links from the piece. Here’s the third paragraph: “My father was one of some 60-plus million Americans over 65, an age demographic on track to make up nearly a quarter of the US population by 2054. Of this population, it is estimated that nearly 7 million currently suffer from Alzheimer’s or related dementias, and in 30 years, that number will grow to more than 13 million. Of those elderly with dementia, as many as half of them will live in a home with a gun.”
A few paragraphs later: “Researchers, physicians, and public health experts have been working hard to get information and tips about firearms and dementia to the general public. Dr. Emmy Betz, professor of emergency medicine at the University of Colorado, says progress is being made, albeit slowly, with the help of firearms enthusiasts, sellers, and associated groups who are raising awareness…
Having a plan
“Betz and other experts have developed the Firearm Life Plan to help families have that conversation.” The website states: “The Firearm Life Plan was developed through feedback and guidance from firearm owners, family members, and other individuals who have experience with firearms or in providing support and care to older adults who own firearms… [Coversations] helped us develop tools, discussion points, and other materials that might assist firearm owners make and share these decisions with those they trust.”
Think of planning how to initiate conversations about taking away an elderly person’s car keys, only potentially more consequential. Or consider it like other decisions that need to be made if a family member becomes severely ill or injured and why you should have the conversations beforehand.
Betz co-authored the 2020 article Views on Firearm Safety Among Caregivers of People With Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias.
“’If you are not in your right mind, and you have a delusion that the kid knocking on the door is the devil or a robber, of course, it’s dangerous,’ says Fredrick Vars, a professor at the University of Alabama law school and author of the 2017 paper Not Young Guns Anymore: Dementia and the Second Amendment.”
Self-registry
The article discusses Donna’s Law for Suicide Prevention. From the site: “Donna’s Law is a voluntary self-registry prohibition to gun sales for those who choose to create self-defense against gun suicide.”
Check out the Kaiser Health News and PBS piece, Unlocked And Loaded: Families Confront Dementia And Guns from 2018, by
But there are roadblocks to getting better data about gun violence. “Historical underfunding for firearm violence prevention research has created challenges for expanding the evidence-base and implementing life-saving policies,” the Surgeon General’s advisory states.
From the Globe: “One legal tool available to family members of people with dementia is the Extreme Risk Protection Order, known colloquially as a ‘Red Flag’ law. Unfortunately, ERPOs are very hard to obtain.”
This is a fascinating topic that had simply never occurred to me before, though there was a 2018 report about it on NBC News.