Gun Safety in Florida

We have of course become used to the abortion battles raging in state legislatures all over the country this year. Ditto for trying to pass state constitutional amendments that would ban gay marriage. This, however is a new one. From NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday:

Florida Gov. Rick Scott is expected to sign a bill that will make the state the first in the nation to prohibit doctors from asking patients if they own guns. The bill is aimed particularly at pediatricians, who routinely ask new parents if they have guns at home and if they're stored safely.

Pediatricians say it's about preventing accidental injuries. Gun rights advocates say the doctors have a political agenda.

As parents know, pediatricians ask a lot of questions. Dr. Louis St. Petery says it's all part of what doctors call "anticipatory guidance" — teaching parents how to safeguard against accidental injuries. Pediatricians ask about bike helmets, seat belts and other concerns.

"If you have a pool, let's talk about pool safety so we don't have accidental drownings," he says. "And if you have firearms, let's talk about gun safety so that they're stored properly — you know, the gun needs to be locked up, the ammunition stored separate from the gun, etc., so that children don't have access to them."

For decades, the American Academy of Pediatrics has encouraged its members to ask questions about guns and how they're stored, as part of well-child visits.

But Marion Hammer, the National Rifle Association's lobbyist in Tallahassee, says that's not a pediatrician's job.

"We take our children to pediatricians for medical care — not moral judgment, not privacy intrusions," she says.

Not a surprise that NRA lobbyists helped write this bill. As the mother of a 7 year old, I have become accustomed to filling out a form at every well-child check with a list of questions regarding safety – pool safety, bike helmets, car seats, and fire arms. And of course, some pediatricians are better than others in their ability to discuss these things without sounding over-bearing and condescending.  Nothing new, there. But while this particular bill has an exception allowing for questioning in cases where doctors feel there is a direct implication to a patient’s care or the safety of others, it is unclear how this will all pan out.

Dr. Paul Robinson, a specialist in adolescent medicine, told a Florida Senate committee recently that that would allow doctors to counsel suicidal teens. But there are other cases, he said, where the law — and the doctor's options — are less clear.

"What if I have an adolescent who's been bullied, who's not suicidal?" he said. "I don't think, under the current bill, I'm entitled to ask him if there's a gun in the home, or if he's carried a gun to school, or if he's thinking of harming someone else with a gun."

All this coming on the heels of a big story from my own backyard, where a loaded gun was found in a first-grader’s backpack. All indications of course, are that the child had no idea the gun was there, but that rather someone other than the child was responsible for placing the gun there. 

Hello.  This is about safety, not 2nd amendment rights or political bias.  The State of Florida. Giving the word “prevention” a whole new meaning.