Home inspection by the VA, they asked about firearms.

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Hasaf

Hasaf

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First off, I am not entirely clear why the VA was inspecting my home. As I understand, it had to do with my wife wanting them to install a handicap rail in the shower so I don't fall and kill myself (before you laugh too hard, it does happen). So, for some reason the VA had some woman inspecting my home this week.

I am away most of the year; however, of the questions they asked were questions about firearms. My wife told the inspector that they were in my safe and it takes two people to open it. Why two people? And yes, that was asked.

Apparently my wife told the inspector that the process was so complicated that it took one person reading the instructions and the second doing it. The inspector asked if all the firearms in the house were in it, and the answer given was yes. At that point the inspector pointed out that having all the firearms in an unopenable safe wasn't going to do much good if they actually needed a gun. My daughter then selt safe in revealing that her makarov wasn't in the safe (her Makarov!:cuss: . . . HER MAKAROV!!!:fire: no, My Makarov!:fire: . . . but I digress. . . ). We didn't get marked down for that. Apparently the only thing I lost points on was that I haven't gotten around to actually bolting the safe down . . . good news, the handrail installer is going to do that for me (hard work may pay off in the future; but procrastination pays off now:D).

It just seemed odd that the inspector actually wanted to see the safe. Apparently with my wifes description of the process of opening it; no, there was no request to see in it. It is a Liberty safe of some sort.
 
I wasn't there. I am still out of town. It just seemed like an odd thing to ask, and that the inspector wanted to know if it was bolted down seemed odd too. Yes, it should be bolted down, it still seemed odd to ask.
 
I'm very curious and somewhat concerned that someone from the gov't performing an inspection for a shower rail asked questions about firearms in your home. I fail to see the connection between the 2. Also about the manner of storage, and the particulars about your safe. Again, unless said safe is in a place that would make the workers' job more difficult (like in the bathroom, which I'm guessing isn't part of the plan). I would demand a copy of all paperwork, to include the name of that inspector.
 
if they are there to inspect for safety, I could see why they would want it bolted. Open the door on an average gunsafe, and its pretty quick to fall on its face. If that door open more than 90 degrees, if could easily kill someone.
 
They ask about firearms all the time as normal business. My son was asked if his dad kept guns in the house when he went for a review of his injuries from Iraq and Afghanistan. He told them to pound salt. They told him his injuries from an IED were not service related.
 
dh1633pm said:
They ask about firearms all the time as normal business. My son was asked if his dad kept guns in the house when he went for a review of his injuries from Iraq and Afghanistan. He told them to pound salt. They told him his injuries from an IED were not service related.
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Shake my head....:(
 
JeffG said:
Plain case of government overreach. If a bathroom renovating company asked those questions, you might be worried they were casing the house for a future burglary.
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Exactly. I wouldn't have allowed them in any part of the house except.. the bathroom ...to begin with. The VA, like all big organizations has bigger proportions of bad apples. The law of averages applies. Some quit, get fired, and they take the info with them. Or they pass it on to "friends".

Was talking to an aquaintance years ago and he told me that one time he had an insurance appraiser in for his gun collection that was in a walk-in safe. A few weeks later he came home from out of town and it had been cleaned out.

Be worth a latter campaign to the WH. Our Pres might put the brakes on this.
 
My son is 100% disabled military. The VA has never asked him a question concerning firearms. Could it be because of the area you live in? The general consensus in this part of the world is that everyone has a gun.
 
dh1633pm said:
They ask about firearms all the time as normal business. My son was asked if his dad kept guns in the house when he went for a review of his injuries from Iraq and Afghanistan. He told them to pound salt. They told him his injuries from an IED were not service related.
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I would send a letter to the WH about this too. It's outrageous, and I am sure that if it reaches our current President's desk, the VA will be contacting your son to "look at his claim again for review".
 
Not to get side tracked. He has ringing in his ears and 20% hearing from hitting an IED. He has one nostril that he can't breath through because he broke his nose. Yes they said both issues are not service related. He also has feet issues from it. It is under appeal now. I thought it the same as sending someone to inspect the house for firearms when you really just need a handle for the shower. Unrelated things. What was the point of asking if his dad owned guns or not when he wasn't even living at home.

He went to the VA in Syracuse.
 
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Couple of comments...

It's almost automatic that your first request for benefits is turned down, regardless of how well grounded your request is. Appeal, and then appeal again if you need to. An attorney specializing in VA issues may be worth the money.

I'm on Medicare, and just had my annual wellness checkup with my doctor. The question now is, is there anything in your home that is a danger to you? So while I'm checking the "no" box, I'm thinking, not dangerous to ME.
 
RPZ said:
I would send a letter to the WH about this too. It's outrageous, and I am sure that if it reaches our current President's desk, the VA will be contacting your son to "look at his claim again for review".
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I suspect they weren’t asking to be snarky/with ill-intent. Suicide is super common among service members, particularly post deployment. It was probably to assess risk for self harm. And no judgement on your son - they ask everyone. (Just like they ask about back pain, etc.)
 
imac98374 said:
I suspect they weren’t asking to be snarky/with ill intent. Suicide is super common among service members, particularly post deployment. It was probably to assess risk for self harm. And no judgement on your son they ask everyone. Just like they ask about back pain, etc.
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It is. But to deny an obvious service connected injury has nothing to do with that. And ultimately, no matter how high the Vet suicide rate, it's none of their business how many or any guns are at home.
 
RPZ said:
It is. But to deny an obvious service connected injury has nothing to do with that. And ultimately, no matter how high the Vet suicide rate, it's none of their business how many or any guns are at home.
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It’s true. But I read “if”, not how many.

And agreed, to deny him service connection for that stuff is crazy, almost to the point that I suspect misunderstanding. They give you a hearing test when you enlist/commission, and they give you one every year thereafter and on retirement. If if goes down while you’re in, then it’s too easy to prove. Appeal sounds like a good call.

Sometimes people get confused about service connection and total disability percentage. The sum of individual disabilities doesn’t necessarily equal your total disability percentage. Not saying his son is confused necessarily, but there’s a lot of jargon that makes if hard for most to fully understand.
 
I don't understand how they even knew you had firearms much less a safe.

I'm extremely careful about who comes in my home and nobody does without me there. I'll take off work if need be.
 
mjsdwash said:
if they are there to inspect for safety, I could see why they would want it bolted. Open the door on an average gunsafe, and its pretty quick to fall on its face. If that door open more than 90 degrees, if could easily kill someone.
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I donno what safes you’ve been playing with. I’ve yet to see one that wouldn’t stand with the door open. Even if the door has loaded pistol pouches and nothing inside.
 
I have to agree with SamT1. I can't imagine some company making a safe that could fall over if the door was opened. It sure would make a dangerous situation where there are bunch of safes out in a showroom for people to look at before purchasing. Also how do you bolt it down if it falls over when you open the door?
 
I figure the VA is pretty likely to ask in case any signs of PTSD or depression pop up. Yes, suicide is far too common.
On the plus side, if they offer to bolt it down, take them up on it. Get an appointment and move everything beforehand, because they don't need a good look unless you're going to invite them shooting after.
As for the safety rail, by all means take it. There's no downside, and it will be nice if you ever need it.
This coming from me, who now works as a courier for a mortuary service, including home removals. After what I've seen so far and heard of from the older workers, I'm not about to poke fun at anyone adding safety features to their shower.
 
denton said:
Couple of comments...

It's almost automatic that your first request for benefits is turned down, regardless of how well grounded your request is. Appeal, and then appeal again if you need to. An attorney specializing in VA issues may be worth the money.

I'm on Medicare, and just had my annual wellness checkup with my doctor. The question now is, is there anything in your home that is a danger to you? So while I'm checking the "no" box, I'm thinking, not dangerous to ME.
Click to expand...

I just had my wellness check last week. That question wasn't asked. My wife had her check the week before and she was asked that either. I also have never been asked a question pertaining to firearms when visiting a doctor. Never.

I did find out that I'm correct in saying I'm half deaf. I could hear only half the tones in each ear.
 
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