Va. Bill stopping MD's from asking about guns fails

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What business is it of a government to limit a voluntary exchange of information between two private individuals?

They may have killed the bill for the wrong reasons, but what happens between a private doctor and a private patient is priviledged information (or should be).
 
For one thing, an exchange between a doctor and a child without a guardian present is not a voluntary exchange.
 
Doc: Does your daddy have guns?
Kid: Yes he has a lot of 'em and they're really cool. He has lots of cans of gunpowder for making ammo too.
Doc: He keeps trigger locks on all his guns right?
Kid: I dunno.
Doc: Awww c'mon you can tell me. You're daddy doesn't have to know you told.
Kid: Uhmm, he might have one with no lock maybe in his holster.
Doc: Loaded?
Kid: Yeah.
Doc: You're daddy carries a loaded gun around with him at home?
Kid: Yeah.

Doc: Hello, child services, I need to report a child potentially being dangerously exposed to weapons in the home. Could you send someone to visit them? The father will probably be armed.

999
 
Doc: Hello, child services, I need to report a child potentially being dangerously exposed to weapons in the home. Could you send someone to visit them? The father will probably be armed.
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And in some jurisdictions, it's just this kind of slippery pretext that would cause law enforcement to ask for, and a judge to grant, a high risk warrant service.
 
Why should there BE a "questioning", parent present or not?

And if a parent says "Son, don't answer that!" then what?

Job interview questions are restricted by law to protect the legal rights of the applicant. For example, in most cases it is illegal to ask someone if they go to church, if they're married, or how old they are, because it is illegal to use this information against them. Therefore, it protects their legal right to nondiscrimination to ban asking the questions.
 
A child will "admit" to just about anything, as long as:
(A) they feel it will not destroy his family (or seperate him from his family), and
(B) it will gain your approval of him

It's not uncommon for children to "admit" to being molested, abused, used in/exposed to sexual acts, exposed to drugs and contraband, and witnesses of crime. The questions have to be asked in the right "way and manner".

If you're going to assume that doctors are malcontents, what makes you think that not talking about firearms would keep you safe? If a doctor wants to elicit a harmful statement or information from a child, he's going to get it.

slippery pretext
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Odd you mention this, if the government stops doctors from asking about guns, why shouldn't the government require doctors to ask about sexual abuse, or if you have a meth lab, or the supplies to create a meth lab?
 
And if a parent says "Son, don't answer that!" then what?
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I would think the doctor would move on to the next question.

I am opposed to doctor's asking those questions, and actually left the AMA over this issue. But I don't think it should be illegal for them to ask.

Vote with your pocketbook, and find another doctor if they ask this kind of crap, but there is no need to make it illegal.

The Virginia legislature protected free speech today by failing to pass this law.
 
My son's pediatrician is pro gun, and a trap/skeet shooter. He knows we carry concealed in his office, and it doesn't bother him in the slightest.
 
why shouldn't the government require doctors to ask about sexual abuse, or if you have a meth lab, or the supplies to create a meth lab?
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Legally speaking, doctors should be free to ask anyone anything. It's a matter of free speach.

Why shouldn't the government require doctors to ask about the things you mentioned? Because I don't think the government has the authority to make them ask.
 
I agree with Eugene Volokh on this one:

"The NRA argues that doctors' advice about guns in "intrusive" and "unnecessary," but it seems to me that the government needs much more than such beliefs to suppress speech. Speech can't be banned just because the legislature believes it "unnecessary," and absent unusual circumstances the sensible response by patients outraged by "intrusive" statements is to switch to a doctor they like better (or perhaps to warn their new doctor that they don't want gun safety advice). "

http://www.volokh.com/archives/archive_2006_02_19-2006_02_25.shtml#1140902551
 
The doctor says....

Doctors CAN NOT examine or question any individual under the age of consent without permission from the guardian. The only exception is medical emergencies and reproductive health in some states.
 
It's a boundry violation, pure and simple. Though home safety is a peripheral health issue, it isn't what I pay a doctor for.

It's no more appropriate or relevant than if they asked about any other potentially dangerous equipment in the home (e.g. do you have a weight bench? How are the weights secured?) Power tools? Pool chemicals? Kitchen knives? 5 gal buckets?
 
Here's some nice sentiments from the American Academy of Pediatrics- "an organization of 60,000 pediatricians committed to the attainment of optimal physical, mental, and social health and well-being for all infants, children, adolescents, and young adults."

...The AAP affirms that the most effective measure to prevent firearm-related injuries to children and adolescents is the absence of guns from homes and communities.
a) Firearm regulation, to include bans of handguns and assault weapons, is the most effective way to reduce firearm-related injuries.

b) Pediatricians and other child health care professionals are urged to inform parents about the dangers of guns in and outside the home. The AAP recommends that pediatricians incorporate questions about guns into their patient history taking and urge parents who possess guns to remove them, especially handguns, from the home. Loaded firearms and unlocked firearms and ammunition represent a serious danger to children and adolescents.
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...Several legal reviews emphasize that the Second Amendment does not protect an individual's gun ownership. Two cases, Presser v Illinois and United States v Miller, have established the meaning of the Second Amendment.59,60 These and later federal court rulings have indicated that the "right" to bear arms is linked to the preservation of state militias and is not intended to provide for an individual's right to own a firearm. The federal government could ban whole categories of firearms, such as handguns and assault weapons.
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The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is proud to collaborate with PAX on the ASK Campaign and help promote its important message. The ASK Campaign (Asking Saves Kids) provides a concrete solution to an indisputable problem. Over 40% of American homes with children have guns, many of them are kept unlocked and loaded, and every year thousands of children are killed or injured in shootings involving these guns. The ASK Campaign encourages parents to ask their neighbors if they have a gun in the home before sending their children over to play. The power of this campaign is that it enrolls all Americans concerned with the welfare of children, including gun owners, and makes a discussion about public safety and good parenting part of the solution to gun violence.
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Here's a little affidavit I just got from SAS (God bless 'em!) that one can give to a doctor who gets too nosey or wants counsel you on firearm safety-
 

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Quoting from the Article: "Pediatricians speaking against the bill said firearms are one of the leading causes of death of children and asking about gun ownership during well-child checkups can save lives."

MALPRACTICE is also one of the leading causes of death among children....

Dentists also fondle patients...

jeez.... It seems like I woke up this morning and the SS had taken over. Arrests because of photos on a blog and now this.
 
How, exactly, does ASKING anything save lives?

Reminding people about safety -- protecting kids by securing sharp objects, heavy things that can fall on kids, tools, household cleansers, guns, etc. -- can save lives.

Inquiring about which of these things someone possesses doesn't.

BTW falling objects kill at least as many people in the US as firearms accidents, and I doubt that any of the falling object deaths are actually suicides.
 
Free speech plain and simple. If your doctor pulls this crap, leave the office immediately, do not pay, and find a new doctor. He's allowed to ask whatever he wants and you're allowed to take your kid to any doctor you want.

If you raise the cost of doing business, this will stop. They'd rather have patients than a political cause.

jh
 
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