“Just like with some (older) people, it’s not if you should stop driving, but when,” said Dr. Ellen M. Pinholt, a co-author and former chief of geriatric medicine at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. “If we find some dementia present in a patient, it can be about when to lock up the weapon or whether we have the family take it away…

“Should we prevent people from serving in public office into their 70s or 80s? Decisions they make could affect millions of citizens,” Gottlieb added. “Simply because someone is older does not mean they should begin to lose their firearms rights … One doesn’t lose his or her civil rights merely because we turn the page of a calendar.”

About three hours north of New York City, former paramedic and gun owner Warren Johnson, 65, said he would become instantly leery should any medical professional delve into a line of questioning regarding firearms.

“If I go to a doctor’s office and the first thing out of his mouth is: ‘So, do you own a gun?’ the first thing that goes through my mind is: He is being coerced (to ask that) by a government agency, whether that’s Medicare, Medicaid,” Johnson said. “It’s none of his business.