[red ryder]

it comes down to two questions for me.

is your father oriented enough to be able to safely handle a gun? If he got asked to leave a conceal carry class, I would think not.

Those instructors are there to teach people to safely own, operate, and carry a weapon. He was obviously asked to leave because he could not achieve this.

What is more important to you? The love your father has for his guns? or the safety of you and your family? An AD can have devastating results.

If you are worried about intruders you can always keep a handgun locked in the house that you have access to and not your father. It sounds like you are proficient with a firearm and could confront a BG if needed.

I understand that you love your father but as soon as his mental and physical condition make him a risk to himself or others in the household it is time to act. Having the firing pins removed sounds like a good idea, or just taking the guns away entirely.

[Theunsb]

Consider you have a safe and gun for SHTF requirement. Have your dad's firearms' firingpins removed by a gunsmith and no fuss about it.
Win win both ways. Ability by you to deal with BG and your dad still have his toys and your youngsters not able to do bad things by accident.

[therewolf]

First, Welcome to FTF.

I'm dealing with an elderly parent also,(96, God bless her) and it can be very trying as they slowly and agonizingly become less than they once were.

I can't tell you what to do, but I can tell you what I do.

Any gun which is not currently "under my thumb" as a CCW is unloaded, period.

Any gun upon which I'm not working or taking out to the range soon is locked

away in the safe(all ammo, in the safe). Any gun not immediately going to the range, or hunting,(in most situations it stays cased until it's in the car) is disabled and locked open.

Unloaded-

Locked open-

Locked away-

So, in order to make a gun fire-able at my house, one has to

1.-get it out of the safe(as well as the proper ammo)

2.-remove the locking mechanism

3.-load and chamber a round...

...not an easy task, since I carry all the gun keys.

[easterner123]

Originally Posted by conflicted

Thanks everyone. Some points of clarification. We deeply love my Dad and want to help him maintain as much dignity as possible, or else I wouldn't be posting here. The "his house/his rules" thing really doesn't apply here. My Mom was always the primary breadwinner and I live here to Help them. I have a great job and help them with their bills. My Mom is really the decision maker in this instance and she helped me write the post and is concerned about safety. As far as him not being any more dangerous than he has ever been, I guess my fear is that he would awaken at night to a noise and go investigate (as he often does) with his gun and instead of an intruder it's one of us..or god forbid my daughter when she is old enough to walk. He is unclear at times about his surroundings esp in the middle of the night, and I worry more about an accident than him intentionally doing anything. He is not a veteran. We have talked about a gun safe, but if he won't keep his guns in there and continues to bring them out how will this help? I agree, watching your parents get older is heart wrenching. And yes, driving is the next topic of conversation and that will be equally as hard.
Thanks again,
Erin

Your in one hell of a pickle. Tell him to keep the guns locked up when your son with the autism is about, and let him do as he will in the meanntime.

I understand its tough, but maybe if someone took over or helped with the responsibility of home defense, he might not fiddle as often? I wouldn't try forcibly taking them though.

Good Luck