There are so many varieties of law practice that it would be hard to list all of them. People often ask me about the area of law in which I specialize. It is unethical for a lawyer in Washington to state that he or she specializes in a particular kind of law practice — unless the lawyer is a federal patent attorney.
The fact that there are so many baby boomers rapidly entering the ranks of the elderly has created a relatively new area of practice known as elder law. Elder law attorneys help families plan for the time that senior citizens might need some kind of assisted care. In some cases, death or incapacity becomes so imminent that decisions need to be made immediately.
Even though I don’t practice elder law, I sometimes get calls from the wife or children of a deceased gun collector. The question usually pertains to the legalities of how to go about selling so many weapons. On the other hand, what about the lifelong gun enthusiast who is still active, but goes into an assisted living situation?
I got a call one day from a social worker. She had an elderly client in assisted living. He had some antique firearms that could not be fired, and was having a problem with being able to keep them in his residence. Discussing the older fellow’s situation made me think of a competition shooter named Willie who died last year.
Willie had shot pistol matches for a long time. You could tell because he seemed to take his time, but hardly missed. He achieved very decent times and often did do while he was calmly smoking a pipe. I was surprised to hear that he died because he seemed fairly robust.
Now that I am almost 60, I admit that I have seen a few of my friends move out of their homes. It is heartbreaking in so many ways to see someone who is very active, and then they suddenly become dependent for some reason or another.
How many seniors still have the capacity to go out and shoot, but give up their firearms because they live in places that don’t allow guns? We can play ball and run all day long when we are young. But some of the steadiest shooters are older men and women because shooting takes calm deliberation and steady thinking. Maybe that is why women often shoot better than men?
In a letter to a young man, Thomas Jefferson wrote:
“A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercises, I advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball, and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be your constant companion of your walks.”
There is even a growing movement to get severely disabled people out to the range. Shooting builds morale and engages the mind in a way that is as beneficial for older folks as it is for the young. Seniors tend to be a likely target for violent predators. Older Americans are one of the fastest growing categories of people obtaining concealed pistol licenses.
Maybe we need facilities that will store guns for people who can’t keep them at home any longer. I asked a group of seniors what they thought about my ideas. One of the guys told me, “The only one in this group I feel safe about having a gun is me!”
Nevertheless, these guys are sharp and retain the ability to enjoy a good laugh. Social workers, attorneys and others who work with seniors might want to think about encouraging responsible discussion that promotes opportunities to engage in shooting sports. Such opportunities can enrich the lives of our senior friends.
