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A typical doctor's visit always leads to certain questions. Drinking habits, smoking history, illegal drug use, mental health conditions and even sexual partner history.
In most cases, these questions are routine and do not cause pause. But health organizations across the country are experimenting with new questions about gun ownership.
Comparing conversations about gun safety to seatbelt and bicycle helmet precautions, doctors are exploring a newfound role for gun control. The question is whether this conversation is taking place in a doctor's office, or just a tool to track and limit gun ownership.
Doctors Ask About Guns
Recently, The Atlantic published an article titled: The doctor will ask you about the gun now An exploration of the nuances of this latest pharmaceutical trend. Many doctors interviewed for the article argued that it makes perfect sense to ask about gun safety in the office.
Emergency medicine physician Emmy Betz explained:
“It’s the same way we encourage people to wear seatbelts, not drive while intoxicated and to exercise.”
Using these terms makes it difficult to see any harm in encouraging safe gun use by doctors in the first place. Pamphlets often promote safe sexual practices, among other safe social engagement practices.
However, the article points out that discussions about firearms in the medical community are not new. The article explains:
“Not long ago, influential doctors argued that if guns were causing so much harm, people should just stop using them.”
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Recalling a 1990s New York Times interview with Dr. Mark Rosenberg, then director of the CDC's Injury Center, the article points to attempts to make gun ownership a social mistake.
“We need a revolution in the way we view guns like cigarettes. Smoking used to be a symbol of cool, sexy, and macho charm. Now it is dirty, deadly and forbidden.”
Is that why doctors are asking about guns?
An argument could be made that society has traded unhealthy tobacco habits for some as equally, if not equally dangerous, for others. Nonetheless, the reality is that gun owners do not view gun ownership as a vice like smoking.
Rights, not connections
In my experience, there are two types of gun owners. Some types advertise ownership through vehicle decals, flags, and clothing.
Then you have a type closer to mine. I own a firearm, but I don't broadcast it. The second group notes that the medical community and supporters of gun control measures struggle with their messaging and initiatives.
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Paul Hsieh, co-founder of Medical Liberty and Individual Rights, wrote to gun owners:
“…find questions about gun ownership intrusive in a different way than questions about substance abuse or sexual partners.”
At first glance, this seems counterintuitive. In fact, questions surrounding something so intimate, such as sexual habits or what an individual puts into his or her body, are more invasive than whether or not someone owns a weapon.
The reason becomes clearer when we take a closer look at what doctors can do with that information.
in any way
The article explains that doctors can:
“…you tell a diabetic patient three times a day not to drink soda, but you literally can't take soda away from him. “It might be possible with a gun.”
The above alludes to some states having laws that allow doctors to engage with law enforcement and remove guns from patients if a court deems necessary. The Biden administration is pursuing similar efforts across the country, known as the National Extreme Risk Protection (ERPO) Resource Center.
Readers may know this better as the “red flag” law.
This is why doctors ask about guns.
The Department of Justice notes:
“ERPO laws, modeled after domestic violence protective orders, allow law enforcement, family members (in most states), medical professionals, or other groups (in most states) to petition the court to temporarily restrain a person at risk. Create civil procedures to ensure that Cause harm to self or others by purchasing and possessing a firearm during the period of the order.”
What constitutes risk may seem obvious, but the reality is that risk is a goalpost that can be moved by political pressure. Is anyone at risk because they are receiving care from a mental health professional?
If you're a combat veteran, are you “at risk”? Are you “at risk” if you are a white Christian?
After all, just owning a gun would make you “at risk.”
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More harm than good
Amy Barnhorst, a firearm injury prevention researcher at UC Davis, explains:
“There’s a lot more psychological significance behind guns for people than there is for soda.”
That's because of a little thing called the Second Amendment. The right to bear arms is the right of citizens to protect their lives, families, and homes.
Gun ownership allows citizens to own not only their most prized possessions but also their most valuable possessions. from Government if necessary.
Some states have tried to prevent doctors from discussing gun ownership, as the article explains.
“Over the past few decades, some states have toyed with laws that limit doctors’ ability to talk to patients about guns and what information they can collect, in an effort to address gun owners’ privacy concerns.”
Not surprisingly, documenting whether a patient owns a gun sounds very similar to a firearms registry. The push to introduce guns into doctors' offices under the guise of safety will undoubtedly confuse patients. less safe.
Mental health counselor Jake Wiskerchen explains the patient numbers:
“…there are people across America right now who own guns and don’t come to counseling because they don’t want their rights taken away for real or imagined reasons.”
Treating medical conditions and mental health issues is where medicine should remain. Otherwise, we risk sacrificing our interest in gun control.
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