Kids and Guns: Why Doctors Have a Right to Know

[Guest bkelm18]

Children and Guns: Why Doctors Have a Right to Know - TIME

Interesting little article with nary an anti-gun slant.

[Garufa]

Nowhere in that inane diatriabe against "clips" was there any valid argument for doctors asking about guns in the home. So what if they did know? Are they to council the parents in some manner on the proper handling and storage of said firearms, or just simply make note of it...or notify some "authority".

[Mechanic_X]

"3000 kids and teens killed by guns."

I wonder how many were gang/drug related.

[Guest clownsdd]

My grandkids have instructions to tell anyone that asks if there are guns in their house that it is none of their business, and if they have any questions to call their dad or mom.

[Jonnin]

There is no reason for it. The doctor cannot provide safe gun handling training, or should not be doing so, just as your mechanic should not be removing the wart on your butt. That would be the only excuse for it, but MORE kids die from other causes that were not asked about. It would take a top ten list along the lines of "guns are the #4 killer of illegal mexican drug pusher gang members in ghetto, AZ" before guns show up as a major killer of children. 3000 sounds like a lot until you look at the number killed in car wrecks each year! Without a valid reason, the only thing left is an anti gun agenda of some sort.

[K191145]

Children and Guns: Why Doctors Have a Right to Know - TIME

Interesting little article with nary an anti-gun slant.

They do have a 1st. Amendment right to ASK, they however have no right to know.

There is no medical reason to know if there's guns in a home unless the guns were infected with chicken pox. It's none of their damn business.

Edited September 20, 2011 by K191145

[Jonnin]

They do have a 1st. Amendment right to ASK, they however have no right to know.

If they ask the adult, I agree. If they ask the child, that should not be allowed under the first --- it is a form of using a postion of authority to get information from a minor.

I took a moment to read the trash. It is anti gun trash, full of crap about "high cap mags" and "assault weapons" -- with the usual inability to understand or define either term but it clearly states that the author is against gun owners having a decent magazine for defense or a semi automatic rifle for sporting purposes. In his eyes guns only exist to kill people and must be limited to prevent violence blah blah blah. Typical liberal garbage.

Edited September 20, 2011 by Jonnin

[K191145]

If they ask the adult, I agree. If they ask the child, that should not be allowed under the first --- it is a form of using a postion of authority to get information from a minor.

You are right about that.

[Wazzu]

I have absolutely no qualms about lying to my doctor about this. As far as he knows I have no guns.

[Moped]

After posting here, everyone should go post over there, as I did. That article was a load of crap!

[Guest gw2and4]

I'm ok with them asking, as long as they're ok with me answering that it's none of their business.

[Guest kirkosaurus]

"Residents of Florida have nearly unrestricted freedom to bear arms. They can have them at home, and they can carry them in public. They can brandish their guns openly or conceal them (except in a few places, such as federal buildings or polling places)."

Um....no they cannot "brandish their guns openly". There is no open carry in FL with the exception of fishing, hunting or heading to the range.

Why must anti-gun people constantly lie?

[Jonnin]

why do journalists not know english? Brandish - verb - to wave an item as a threat. No state grants this that I know of, in fact, most define it as a crime.

[Guest lostpass]

Here's the acid test for this kind of thing:

How does the answer impact treatment?

SO you take your kid to the doctor because he has strep. Does the answer, either in the affirmative or the negative, change the prognosis or treatment? If the answer is "no" the the question is a waste of all the doctor's and the patient's time.

On the other hand if you take your kid in because of persistent lung infections the question, which is also none of their business, of "You live in a meth lab?" is valid. Cause if you're getting infections from the meth lab they might change the treatment. It might be "don't live in a meth lab"

Every doctor I've actually asked about this thought it was a stupid question. They also thought I was stupid for asking it so I stopped asking. WEll, maybe, more probably, they just thought I was stupid. Can't blame them for that.

[zapfbroad]

hey doc do you have any extra lengths of rope or netting in your home? well I ask because those are the primary instruments of autoerotic asphyxiation and being a upper middle class caucasian male over 40 you're at a statistically greater risk of suffering death from those items than me? did you want me to ask the nurse about rescheduling??

[UncleJak]

When I took my kids for a well check, the nurse asked if there were guns in our house. I replied "yes, and they are all loaded". I think I caught her off-guard because she went right to the next question...

[ls3_kid]

The high capacity clip bill blows my mind. Sure limit the crazy gunman to only 10 bullets, he will follow that law. Even if the assailant does follow a law like this why not just bring extra clips or guns.

I hate politics.

[gnmwilliams]

"3000 kids and teens killed by guns."

I wonder how many were gang/drug related.

What they don't tell you that they are counting anyone under 21 years old as a child. Cars kill more people than guns every year.

[peejman]

I think asking them if they have sex toys in their house is the best response.

[monkeylizard]

If you have a female doctor, flex your biceps and in your best Arnold Schwarzenegger voice say "I've got my guns right here".

[Guest nicemac]

Interesting little article with nary an anti-gun slant.

I hope this was sarcasm. This article is filled with anti-gun rhetoric…

[RobertNashville]

"3000 kids and teens killed by guns."

I wonder how many were gang/drug related.

Probably a lot more than would be helpful for the point of the article.

Of course we all know, it's the "gun" that's the problem in drug/gang related shootings!

[Guest nicemac]

Probably a lot more than would be helpful for the point of the article.

Of course we all know, it's the "gun" that's the problem in drug/gang related shootings!

This article states nearly 3/4 of all teen homicides were gang related in 2002:

Teen Homicide, Suicide, and Firearm Deaths | Child Trends Databank

If that number is anywhere close, that only leaves 750 teens/ kids killed by guns for any reason, including jealous boyfriends, robberies and drug deals (unrelated to gangs), etc…

[dlm37015]

i only go to doctors that shoot and hunt