Umm... What???

[gravitysuksv15]

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-laws-that-muzzle-doctors-on-gun-safety-are-dangerous/

I don't like going to the Doc in the first place, now they are asking about gun ownership?

[RevolverRob]

That's a pretty weak set of arguments, but then I haven't come to expect much from Scientific American as an outlet these days. Their articles are sensationalist and rarely have the same critical insight of higher quality peer-reviewed scientific journals like Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). That said Scientific American generally bases its articles on information that has been published in peer-reviewed journals.

While I agree that questions about gun ownership and storage are irrelevant to a broader physical exam and most issues surrounding general practitioner medical care, it is potentially relevant in the mental health field, depending on the issue being addressed. But such information should be jealously guarded and misuse of such data by licensed doctors should be treated as criminal malpractice.

I've maintained for a while now, that I would really like to see careful objective studies of "gun violence" (which is a moronic term) and gun control. Unfortunately, neither side has a vested interest in facts or rigorous study. Demonstrated by the recent move by Republicans to continue to prevent funding for such research by the CDC. Unfortunately, the longer this goes on the less objective any potential investigators are likely to be.

[SAWBONES]

Just more Nanny-State crap;

"Physicians are supposed to offer counseling not just about diet and exercise but also about injury prevention connected to boating, bicycling and riding motorcycles, observed Stuart Himmelstein, then head of the Florida Chapter of the American College of Physicians, in a lawsuit document. Counseling a motorcyclist to wear a helmet is no different than counseling a gun owner to store firearms safely."

Sez him!

As though anyone needs his physician to advise him about safety when riding a motorcycle, or how to handle firearms, especially when most physicians know little or nothing about the details of motorcycle riding or shooting.

As a doc who does direct patient care and who's ridden motorcycles for over 40 years and been shooting for 30, I'd never intrude into a patient's private pastimes, hobbies or interests unless conversation about such was initiated by the patient, or unless I felt it was genuinely germane to something pertaining to a patient's medical condition.

The trouble with too many docs is that, having pursued long and arduous study, and having achieved positions of autonomy and authority in the realm of Medicine, they falsely ascribe to themselves expertise and authority in various other areas, of which they're actually often quite ignorant, sorry to say. Hubris is ugly.