Appeals Court OKs ‘Docs vs. Glocks’ Law
You might recall back in 2011, Florida passed a law that Doctors couldn’t ask patients about gun ownership or talk to them about gun safety. The legislature in Tallahassee felt these questions were not related to medical practice. (Because, as we all know nobody has ever had to go the the Hospital because of a firearms injury).
In a 2-1 ruling, a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the state Legislature had the right to pass the law, which includes provisions restricting doctors and other medical providers from asking questions about gun ownership during medical visits.
These are the same people who reject the ACA on the grounds it supposedly places government between a patient and their physician.
Judge Gerald Tjoflat wrote. “In keeping with these traditional codes of conduct — which almost universally mandate respect for patient privacy — the Act simply acknowledges that the practice of good medicine does not require interrogation about irrelevant, private matters.”
Yeah, you know how it is with those pesky doctors. Always asking about what you eat, if you exercise, if you have trouble sleeping…whats up with that?
In a sharp dissent significantly longer than the majority opinion, Circuit Judge Charles Wilson said the law was an unconstitutional “gag order” that infringes on doctors’ rights.
“The holding reached today is unprecedented, as it essentially says that all licensed professionals have no First Amendment rights when they are speaking to their clients or patients in private,” Wilson said. “This in turn says that patients have no First Amendment right to receive information from licensed professionals — a frightening prospect.”
First amendment? Doesn’t he know only the Second Amendment counts in Florida.
