How have others successfully confiscated guns from a parent with Alzheimer's?

there are times when cops have killed people because they believe that they had a gun that was loaded when really it was not most cops are trained to shoot on sight when they see an armed person please don't put your loved ones in danger

My dad has Dementia and he’s an alcoholic. He loves shoot em’ up westerns. He’s made threats against my mother’s side of the family. Not a smart idea...my uncle is a retired police officer from Brooklyn NY & he served in Vietnam. He is an avid hunter. My other uncle (his brother) also served in the Army as a drill sergeant. So immediately, one would know that something has to be mentally wrong with my dad to make threats against these tough guys or (my auntie) their sister!! I felt at liberty to find out the name of the Sheriff here in St. Clair county (Alabama). I looked on dad’s gun permit, the Sheriff’s signature was somewhat hard to read, so I did some guess work and I googled his name. I sent him a very sincere letter, via email. The court had already revoked his drivers license about 4yrs ago. His permit to carry a concealed weapon had just expired and he will never be able to renew it again. The county sheriff even told me if my family & I need further assistance to let him know. I hope this helps you. It’s a hard thing to deal with! God Bless You!

JoNel Aleccia I have no prior experience with having guns in the hands of a person with dementia but I do know that a mentally impaired person and a gun do not go well together that's the equivalent of a drunk person with a gun or a drunk person in the car I just see it as a really bad combination and Common Sense would dictate to keep those two as far away from each other as possible  and to those people I see  living with someone who has a gun that has dementia  do the right thing and take it away from them the good of the many outweighs the good of the few you might make that person feel sad when you take away their collection of guns but their feelings are nothing compared to someone losing their life because you didn't have the courage to take it away in the first place  it's a sad thing but someone has to do it and if you don't do it and someone dies because of it it's on your fault it isn't just the person with dementia's fault it's your fault because you knew that person had a gun but they were unwell  it's your fault for being week you gotta be stronger than that you have to not have any emotion when you do it when you do it you have be cold and calculating because at the end of the day it's your fault for not taking away that gun if someone died or got hurt some people may consider me cruel for thinking like that but at the end of the day a gun is only dangerous in the hands of someone who is untrained or unwell  is this okay for your news report or  your article

Hi Everyone,
Most of you are aware of our member comment policies and know that we do not allow direct solicitation of our members. We were contacted by JoNel Aleccia specifically regarding this thread. Although it is an older thread, it has received recent attention due to current events. We vetted the request, and would like to support Ms. Aleccia's work toward furthering information on aging and end of life issues. In order to honor your anonymous use of the forum we have decided to proceed in this direction, allowing you to make the decision to make contact with her. If you would like to participate in an article regarding this topic, please reach out to JoNel Aleccia at the email below. As always, we appreciate the advice and support each of you regularly provide in the forum.


I am a reporter with Kaiser Health News, the health policy news service and am part of the team focused on issues surrounding aging and the end of life. I'm working on a story about gun access among people with dementia and I see an interesting thread regarding the issue on the AgingCare.com site. Is it possible to contact any of the users on the site directly? I'd like to ask if they'd be willing to discuss their experiences.
Thanks,
JoNel Aleccia
JoNelA@kff.org

Without a doubt, remove the guns, hide them, give them to a family member, but definitely do NOT allow him access to them! Memory comes and goes, good judgement comes and goes, moods come and go. Police will not wait to see what kind of mood or demeanor a person is in when they are called to check out someone with a gun pointed at them.

cwillie I have no prior experience with having guns in the hands of a person with dementia but I do know that a mentally impaired person and a gun do not go well together that's the equivalent of a drunk person with a gun or a drunk person in the car I just see it as a really bad combination

didntknow what happened to you almost is an example of what could happen to any person who pulls out a gun at a cop especially if it's an old man who has dementia who wouldn't recognize that the Intruder is a cop

When I was granted Guardianship of my wife the judge ordered that the state office that is responsible for doing the back ground checks be notified that she was not to be allowed to purchase or own a firearm. The judge did not remove my firearms for my custody but I keep them secured. Perhaps that would be an avenue to look into.
I think this action is forwarded to feds as well.
Because of the possibility of fraud or other possibility of ID theft was a secondary reason for this action.
Law enforcement may have the authority to remove the firearms but disabling the fire arms might help keep the peace. The firing could be removed by a gunsmith.
Convincing him that having them checked by a gunsmith might be a way to go. Just explain to the gunsmith before hand what the need is.

After I moved back in with Dad, I had been at my house for about 2 hours and when I returned, he told me he could have shot me because he didn't know who was coming in the house. I told him to give me the gun and he balked. Told him fine, I was moving back home rather than take the chance of being shot. He gave me the gun and I locked it up.

josue1223, since you have been reopening several old threads on gun issues I'm wondering if you have had some first hand experiences you'd like to share, maybe in a new thread of your own?

disabling the guns is a good idea but what happens if an incident occurs and the cops come over to your house what happens if he perceives them as an intruder trying to enter his property and he pulls out a gun to defend himself those cops are liable to shoot him it's better to take the gun away from him completely dementia patients under no circumstances should be allowed to own a gun if they have been diagnosed it doesn't matter what stage they are in

When it comes to safety issues like driving or guns,
follow your conscience and do the right thing. Yes,
they get mad. Do it anyway.

Ditto what Windy says.....sneak them out, take to gun shop, have firing pins removed and sneak back in....

One way or another, get the guns, disable them and put them back. Then he can check on them, caress them whatever. My Dad has dementia and I was able to convince him to give the long guns away since he does not hunt any longer, but he insisted on keeping a crappy little pistol hidden in his closet for "protection".

He's had it for years so it's a long term memory that sticks with him. I found the gun and disabled it and stuck it back in his hiding place. It's been over a year and I haven't heard a peep.

We cannot allow dementia patients to have access to guns.

My father has not accepted his diagnosis. He refuses to even acknowledge it. His cardiologist and GP told him he could no longer drive and he was furious and fired them. He is now saying he'll never go back to the doctor or hospital. We have succeeded in keeping him from driving but it's been a challenge. He still has a valid driver's license and keys. Keeping keys are a priority for him. They seem so signify he is still in control.

Does your father accept his diagnosis? Is he still driving? I suspect this country is full of homes of Alzheimer patients that contain guns. Probably the removal of guns should go along with the first Namenda script. But for gun lovers having a gun is huge to their identity. It would be interesting to know what police departments have as a policy. Does your dad have a friend he might trust his guns with? Could the ammo be removed without his knowledge? You could possibly have a locksmith come in when he is out for a drs appointment and open the lock but you are still going to have to deal with the issue when he realizes they are gone. If you google gun rights of alzheimer patients many sites appear and you've probably looked at those. I think getting them from him would be the easy part. Assuming you know where they are. Keeping him from buying more ( and now in an agitated state) might be a real concern if he is still driving. Hopefully someone who has had the experience will answer. My 89 yr old aunt had a small pistol that she liked to talk about having. About 3 years ago my husband asked to see it and she gave it to him. I admit I was relived. Let us know how you handle it.

I would call your local police department and discuss this situation with them