The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that doctors must be permitted to talk to their patients about guns, delivering a blow to gun-rights advocates who claim the doctor conversations threaten to infringe Second Amendment protections. In a 10-1 decision, the appeals court ruled that the law — The Firearms Owners’ Privacy Act — violates the First Amendment rights of doctors. In 2011, Florida lawmakers passed the National Rifle Association-backed bill,
nicknamed the “physician gag law.” Florida Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, signed the bill into law in June of that year, according to the University of Miami Law Review: [T]he Act provides that a doctor “should refrain from” asking a patient about firearm ownership, unless she believes “in good faith” that the “information is relevant to the patient’s medical care or safety, or the safety of others.” CONTINUE
No worries. If doctors feel the need to ask a patient about gun ownership, what gives them the idea they will get a straight and truthful response? All you circuit court and other judges out there- think you’re dealing with a bunch of idiots? No one puts a huge sign in front of their house advertising ” hey- no one’s home!”