How to Have 'the Talk' With Aging Parents About Their Guns

Some doctors say adult children of aging parents with dementia who own guns need to talk about removing those firearms from the home, reports Reuters . Researchers estimate that one in three people aged 65 and older in the U.S. is a gun owner, and another one in eight live with someone who owns a gun. They predict as many as 12 million Americans with dementia could be living in a household with a gun by 2050. The authors of an opinion piece published in the Annals of Internal Medicine note there currently are no valid screening tools to help determine when it is time to take away guns. Moreover, federal gun laws do not ban the purchase or possession of guns by persons with dementia, while only Texas and Hawaii cite dementia or similar conditions in their state ordinances. The researchers suggest the best time to have the discussion about gun removal would be before dementia advances, when older adults can still make up their own minds about when and how they might be willing to give up access to guns. They also say families might consider a "firearms retirement date," when their parents will give up any guns in the home to avoid the potential for these weapons to be in the house when they can no longer store them or use them safely. Another suggestion is for older adults to designate a trusted person to have the authority to remove their guns when the time comes.