Florida Doctors: Ask Patients About Guns, Pay Huge Fines
A bill is being debated in the Florida legislature that calls for doctors to be fined up to $100,000 if they ask their patients if they own a gun.
The bill stems from an incident in which a doctor told a woman that he would no longer treat her children if she refused to answer whether she had a gun in her home.
With backing from the NRA, a state Senate committee gave the go-ahead last week to the bill. It now has to be approved by the legislature, which shouldn't be much of a problem -- Florida is GOP-controlled and gun friendly. Gov. Rick Scott is also an unabashed firearms advocate.
Doctors found guilty of asking patients about guns would have to fork over $10,000 for a first offense, at least $25,000 for a second, and $100,000 for a third. The original bill was much more severe -- it called for a felony charge and up to $5 million in fines.
Supporters say it's also needed as a reaction to American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines suggesting that doctors ask parents of children whether they've stored their guns safely.
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Doctors and/or nurses who ask about your possession of firearms or inquire if you have ever had an instance where you wanted to kill or hurt someone many times have the ulterior motive of filing a report to the state that you may have violent tendencies. If you have a concealed carry permit, the state may revoke your permit because of that report and nothing else. I have seen a couple of cases where this has happened where I live.
I find this practice very distasteful. This practice also reduces the patient-doctor trust relationship to close to zero.
Equipped with outdated, debunked, and false information the AMA has been leading an attack on gun owners with these invasive questions that have nothing to do with patient care. It's none of any doctor's business whether or not I keep guns in my home. It doesn't have any bearing on my flu symptoms or performing an appendectomy. It's also a huge abuse of power. I hope Florida passes this law and makes an example out of a few docs to show they're serious.
I also hope Tennessee is right behind them.
Strangely though, you think it is the government's business, to the tune of $10,000 for just the first supposed offense, if a doctor asks a patient about guns . The government of Florida cares more about "donations" from the NRA than they do the health and well being of the children of Florida.
Jerome McCollom
i don`t talk politics or religion or gun matters with my doctors unless they want to go shooting!it is not their business to record this,or require it!the law does make an exception in the case where a suspected mentally challanged person may cause harm to himself or other`s!this is a great bill!i don`t tell my mechanic not to put go fast parts on his car because it may endanger him!
The government is not asking if I have guns . Therefore it's still not the government's business. The government is telling doctors it's none of their business and if they continue to harass patients over an unrelated issue it will cost them. It's a little concept known as crime and punishment.
And maybe you could demonstrate using the same old and debunked studies how the health and well being of a child has anything to do with guns in the home and how that is any of my doctor's business. Please, enlighten us.