Do you have elderly family members who own guns?
One of the wonderful things about retirement is that it frees up time for seniors to enjoy more of what they love to do, like spending time with the grandchildren or a weekend of hunting. There’s certainly nothing wrong with enjoying some quality time that involves shooting a gun. However, it’s a fact that seniors have a high prevalence of depression, suicide, and dementia, so it’s essential that any senior who owns and uses a gun is doing so safely.
We know that, as the child of aging parents, it’s not always easy to broach these difficult subjects with them. Sometimes, it might be tempting to sneak firearms out of their home or secretly disable them. But if you don’t sit down and have a conversation about firearm safety for seniors, you can end up facing a legal nightmare!
So here’s what you should do to help spread firearm safety awareness for any seniors in your family:
Ask: “Is There a Firearm at Home?”
If you ever find yourself saying something like, “Oh, my parents don’t have any firearms. They didn’t allow them in the house when I was growing up,” then you might be in for a huge surprise. You’ve been out of the house for a long time now and they might have purchased a firearm for self-defense purposes without telling you. They might have received one through being given one by another family member or friend, or even inherited an entire firearm collection. This is why you need to ask them if there is a firearm present in the home or do a thorough search if you suspect there is one. This is especially important if your senior family member receives home visits from health care professionals who could be at risk if firearms are not safely stored.
“Is It Loaded?”
As a simple rule of firearm safety thumb; if you find a firearm in someone’s home, always assume that it’s loaded, even though it shouldn’t be. This is why it’s vital to ensure that your senior family members understand gun safety training and store their firearms unloaded and away from the ammunition.
“Is It Locked?”
Is the firearm stored securely? A gun should always be stored in a locked gun safe or have a trigger lock or cable lock in place. Keeping firearms under the bed is definitely not a safe storage situation. Also be sure to ask your senior family member where they’re storing the ammunition and make sure the bullets are locked away separate from the firearm itself.
“Are there Little Children Around?”
Did you know that 656,000 children live in households headed by grandparents in Canada? More still visit their grandparents’ home on a regularly. If there are ever little children present, it’s important to make sure that grandparents are familiar with basic childproofing and home safety concepts, and especially when it comes to safe storage of firearms.
“Is the Senior Feeling Low?”
While those aged 40 to 59 have the highest rate of suicide in Canada, 26% of suicides committed by those aged 60 and older used a firearm to do so. In comparison, only 12% of 15 to 39-year-olds used a gun to commit suicide. It’s a fact that readily available guns increased the risk of suicide at home.
This is why it’s imperative to check on your senior family members and make sure they’re feeling okay on a regular basis. If you ever notice a drop in moral or other signs of depression, it’s not only is it essential to get the necessary mental health help but equally as important to restrict access to a firearm and ammunition. Care and attention to a senior’s emotional state can save lives.
“Is the Senior Learned?”
Does the senior owner of the firearm actually know how to use it? As we mentioned above, many firearms are given as gifts or inherited and not purchased intentionally by the owner themselves. If that’s the case for your senior family member, you need to set up basic firearm training to make sure they know how to properly handle the gun. This is even more important if your elderly relative is weaker than they used to be and might not be able to properly handle the weight of a firearm like they could when they were younger.
GTA Guns Can Help
If you’re looking for full peace of mind, look no further than GTA Guns. We offer a range of safe storage options that’ll ensure your senior family members can store their firearms safely and securely, and access them any time that it’s convenient.
We endeavour to ease all of your worries and take care of everything that might be an issue with storing firearms. When you store your guns with GTA Guns, their safety is our problem, not yours. We’re experienced professionals who cover all the bases in detail.
What’s more, our entire facility is fully insured. In the rare event that something were to happen, you’d be fully covered against hurricanes, fires, floods, or any other natural disasters. Plus, we’d fill out all of the complicated paperwork for you.
Our safe storage facilities are monitored 24/7 and are fully optimized for the perfect storage conditions. All your senior family member has to do is call and set a time to pick up or drop off. Their firearms will be easily accessible whenever they need them for the shooting range, hunting, or guns sports.
But what if your senior family member is no longer physically or mentally fit to own a gun? In that case, our online firearm auctions are the perfect way to sell any unwanted firearms. Not only will you be solving the problem of there being firearms in your senior parents’ home, but you will also be raising money that can help support them in their retirement years!
To get started, you simply take your guns to be appraised by our expert gunsmiths. This will give you the exact condition of your firearm and what it’s worth. We’ll then list your firearm on our online auction site, where you’ll have access to the buyer-rich GTA-area gun market and more than 65,000 potential bidders from all over North America.
Not only will you get the pleasure of watching the price of your gun listing skyrocket in a fierce bidding war, but we’ll take care of all the necessary paperwork and transfer and transport the firearm directly to the buyer. Once the auction is over and the sale is final, you’ll get paid within six business days following the auction. No exceptions. Our online auctions are an effortless way for any elderly firearm lover to downsize and put more money in their pocket to enjoy retirement.
So don’t hesitate to get in touch with GTA Guns. We’re happy to answer any questions you might have about our services, online auctions, or safe storage options. Our team of expert gunsmiths will be glad to make sure the seniors in your life are safe!