He made threats when he was very sick at home, saying, I should shoot anyone who comes in here unanounced. But, I had to have emergency crews take him to the ER several times. Now he is home and better, and wants his guns back. Cognitively he is fine now, but deteriorates rapidly anytime he gets ill, which is about every 4 to 6 months. I just dont know what to do. Do I give them back to him? He has threatened to put the law on me, if I dont bring them over. He also says, I will just buy another one if you dont bring my pistol. Please help me know what to do...
The reason I say more than half will say "no" is because back in 2010 only 32% of households own firearms, compared with 50% back in 1973.
If you do give back the guns and he does seriously harm someone during a bout of illness, you will be made to feel very guilty. Why not ask his primary physician what he/she would recommend to take that burden off you.
Do you think his threat to shoot someoneo who came into the house when he was ill is a reflection of his personality or was it because he felt vulnerable from his illness?
I think one of the reasons people want guns as they get older is because of the sense of increased vulnerability. Life can be violent, especially in some cities.
Is he able to handle a gun when he's not ill?
Perhaps you could also disable them, or keep the ammo. If he has an empty gun w/o ammo, he might feel at least some level of protection, until he discovers the ammo is gone.
This is a really tough decision; if you do keep the guns and he does attempt to buy another, do you think he'd be able to to do so, or do you think a gun dealer would decline to sell to him because of his age? And more importantly, would he even have transportation to go find one to buy?
With semi-autos that take clips, an intruder could see there's no clip and possibly conclude there was only one round in the chamber (although that would be enough to deter me if I were an intruder!).
Some other nonlethal weapon might work as well to scare off an intruder...maybe even a cap gun! I would think that if someone is breaking in and sees the barrel of a gun pointing at him/her, he/she would hightail it out of there rather than stop and analyze what the weapon is and whether or not it's loaded.
One of my father's friends bought him a can of insect spray; it's easier to use than a gun and would certainly cause discomfort - the smell alone is sickening.
Hair spray has also been used as a weapon; I carry a little tube of spray in my purse. Your father could easily aim a can of hair spray at someone, although it won't have the range of any gun.
Are you associated with anyone that is familiar with guns? If so, they can remove the firing pin so that it looks as if all is well but the guns cannot be discharged before they are returned to him. That way, he will feel no need to go get another one as he has "his guns".
I am not so familiar with weapons that I could do this myself so I asked a friend of the family to do it for me.
It's a frightening prospect to imagine a person that has recurring issues of not being in their right mind having access to firearms.
On farm, a shotgun is a very basic tool for survival. In a remote area, 911 can't get there in time.
Knight58, if you are still with us, it would be really interesting to hear what you decided and how it is working out.