Pediatrician asked about firearms in the home.

[JLawsonTXRH]

Just remember not to take it out on your pediatrician. For them, it's CYA. They're following the recommendations, as they are supposed to do. Like someone said, they may or may not have an opinion on the matter, but if you don't want to answer the question, inform them of this and they'll simply chart that you declined to answer...end of discussion. No reason to get rude or defiant.

Personally, this is one set of questions I don't mind answering. Some people really are stupid enough to not appropriately secure their firearms away from little ones and need the reminder. Certainly, you folks here aren't among those people, but your doctor doesn't and can't know that. If a doctor asks 1000 patients these questions, pisses off 999 of them while actually making 1 realize that they aren't being cautious enough, I'm okay with that. Better than avoiding an uncomfortable line of questioning and risking a child getting hurt.

WHOA! You are clearly in the minority here. You mean, you don't actually mind answering those questions? What the heck? The next thing you know, the doctor might ask you if you smoke inside the home, put your child in a car seat or leave toxic cleaners under the sink where junior can get at them. You certainly don't want the doctor to hear those answers, do you?

You're right, a polite "I'd prefer not to answer that" or a simple "does not apply" is quick and easy. There are three people I don't want to **** off - my doctor, my minister and the pilot who is flying me!

 

[Joe Williams]

WHOA! You are clearly in the minority here. You mean, you don't actually mind answering those questions? What the heck? The next thing you know, the doctor might ask you if you smoke inside the home, put your child in a car seat or leave toxic cleaners under the sink where junior can get at them. You certainly don't want the doctor to hear those answers, do you?

You're right, a polite "I'd prefer not to answer that" or a simple "does not apply" is quick and easy. There are three people I don't want to **** off - my doctor, my minister and the pilot who is flying me!

My doctor's business is whatever medical issue we are there to see him/her for. What is or isn't in my house, where I store whatever might be in there, what I do in there, and how I drive is not. While doctors may THINK they are gods with the right to butt into our lives, they are in actuality merely paid employees with only one concern. I've got no problem reminding them of what that concern needs to be.

 

[UncleMike]

My doctor's business is whatever medical issue we are there to see him/her for. What is or isn't in my house, where I store whatever might be in there, what I do in there, and how I drive is not. While doctors may THINK they are gods with the right to butt into our lives, they are in actuality merely paid employees with only one concern. I've got no problem reminding them of what that concern needs to be.

+1
My Doctors have enough information to treat my medical problems.
If they want to know more than that they'll have to wait until I publish my biography.
Mike

 

[Bill of Rights]

Just remember not to take it out on your pediatrician. For them, it's CYA. They're following the recommendations, as they are supposed to do. Like someone said, they may or may not have an opinion on the matter, but if you don't want to answer the question, inform them of this and they'll simply chart that you declined to answer...end of discussion. No reason to get rude or defiant.

Personally, this is one set of questions I don't mind answering. Some people really are stupid enough to not appropriately secure their firearms away from little ones and need the reminder. Certainly, you folks here aren't among those people, but your doctor doesn't and can't know that. If a doctor asks 1000 patients these questions, pisses off 999 of them while actually making 1 realize that they aren't being cautious enough, I'm okay with that. Better than avoiding an uncomfortable line of questioning and risking a child getting hurt.

I think this has been well-debunked. First, "if it saves just one child..." is leftist BS, and while you didn't use that phrasing exactly, you were pretty close. Further, the doc is not an employee of the AAP or the AMA, so there is no "what they're supposed to do" involved. What they're supposed to do is take care of a child's medical needs, not their eternal safety. That's the parents' job.

You'd probably have a hard time finding a pediatrician that doesn't at some point ask this question. Seems pretty standard nowadays. From my experience and from what others say they ask, you answer or don't, and they move on.

Yep. And any answer other than some form of "no" (possibly including a horrified look) is going to be taken as a yes.

There might be a few parents who never thought about firearms in their home or never prepared for the homecoming of a new child. The questions are asked to help protect a child from an accident. It's just a reminder to help parents especially new ones and ensure the wellbeing of the child. It has nothing to do with gun control.

This is true, re: never thought about or never prepared for. Some may not have considered it. Easy solution: "I don't know if you have firearms in the home and I'm not asking. IF you do and haven't thought about safe storage, you might want to do so." No invasion of privacy, nothing on the medical chart, and if in fact the concern is issuing a reminder, that need is met.

Please find below a link to a form I've posted here before and others have posted elsewhere. I make no claim of authorship.

http://www.2ampd.net/Articles/horn2/Firearms Malpractice Form.pdf

Blessings,
Bill

 

[Roadie]

There might be a few parents who never thought about firearms in their home or never prepared for the homecoming of a new child. The questions are asked to help protect a child from an accident. It's just a reminder to help parents especially new ones and ensure the wellbeing of the child. It has nothing to do with gun control.

 

[Jack Ryan]

I think this has been well-debunked. First, "if it saves just one child..." is leftist BS, and while you didn't use that phrasing exactly, you were pretty close. ...
Blessings,
Bill

Ever notice similar leftist BS is to rightist BS and only the topics change?

What is it when the "if it saves just one child..." card is played on this board in a drunk driving thread?

It's got to be the dumbest arguement I've ever heard no matter who uses it. I could ban peanuts and probably save at least hundreds of kids. Football, television, and strawberries same thing. I bet banning pencil erasers would save at least one child next year. Thousands drown in 5 gallon buckets every year.

Rightist, leftist, liberal conservative that's the real BS. Might as well call them all hippies for all it means.

 

[Roadie]

I think this has been well-debunked. First, "if it saves just one child..." is leftist BS, and while you didn't use that phrasing exactly, you were pretty close. Further, the doc is not an employee of the AAP or the AMA, so there is no "what they're supposed to do" involved. What they're supposed to do is take care of a child's medical needs, not their eternal safety. That's the parents' job.



Yep. And any answer other than some form of "no" (possibly including a horrified look) is going to be taken as a yes.



This is true, re: never thought about or never prepared for. Some may not have considered it. Easy solution: "I don't know if you have firearms in the home and I'm not asking. IF you do and haven't thought about safe storage, you might want to do so." No invasion of privacy, nothing on the medical chart, and if in fact the concern is issuing a reminder, that need is met.

Please find below a link to a form I've posted here before and others have posted elsewhere. I make no claim of authorship.

http://www.2ampd.net/Articles/horn2/Firearms%20Malpractice%20Form.pdf

Blessings,
Bill

Indeed. Funny how "if it saves just one child" never applies to the thousands(perhaps more) citizens a year that save family members from harm by using a firearm in self defense...

 

[Roadie]

Jack beat me to it...lol

 

[JohnP82]

I think my response would have been dead silence to both questions. It's none of their damned business.

 

[bigus_D]

The next thing you know, the doctor might ask you if you smoke inside the home...

You don't smoke inside with children at home, do you?

-1 to exposing children to cigarette smoke.

+1 Burger King (no smoking).

 

[DagerOne]

I think this has been well-debunked. First, "if it saves just one child..." is leftist BS, and while you didn't use that phrasing exactly, you were pretty close. Further, the doc is not an employee of the AAP or the AMA, so there is no "what they're supposed to do" involved.

*laughs* You don't know me, so I'll excuse your attempt to designate me as anything remotely left of center. What I AM, however, is someone who is marginally involved in the health care of kids and adolescents, primarily. While the doc isn't an employee of those organizations, he's likely a member and is bound to follow their guidelines if he wishes to remain as such. Even if he has NO interest in belonging to those groups, should any sort of complaint be lodged against him, one of the first steps in that procedure would be peer review...likely by a lot of folks who ARE members who would hold him to that standard whether he belongs or not. It's an end-around sort of thing, but that's how it works out.

And to reiterate what some folks have selectively ignored, the thrust of my post was simply to politely decline to answer the questioning instead of threatening violence, lying about storing weapons under the child's bed, or switching doctors. And my choice to answer the questions, as well as my motivation for doing so, was presented simply as my opinion (that's what those two pennies mean) and was in no way intended to infringe upon the rights of anyone here to decline. That opinion, I assure you, wasn't formulated as the result of any B.S., leftist or otherwise. To clarify, I'm in favor of the doctor asking the question...I do NOT think it's appropriate for the government to record, classify, or really have anything to do with this info. To me, though, these are separate issues.

Carry on.

 

[Hornett]

To clarify, I'm in favor of the doctor asking the question...

I think that is the problem that many are having here. There are many many other questions that could be asked...
Like 'Do you have your cleaners locked up? Everyone has cleaning agents that could hurt a child.
'Is the crib you are going to put your child in safe and sturdy?'
'Do you smoke in the house?'
'Do you drive the speed limit?'
Do you have enough money left over after buying drugs to buy baby food? Couldn't resist that... Sorry.
Just look at the form that Bill of Rights posted for more ideas on safety questions.

The problem that I and many others here are having is that this line of questioning from doctors is straight up gun hating. The AMA and the AAP have been anti gun for some years now. It's really not a health question. And it probably will go into some chart somewhere.

I have to admit that this

Better than avoiding an uncomfortable line of questioning and risking a child getting hurt.

irked me a little bit too. Left or right wing, whatever, it is just an argument that appeals to the emotions and really doesn't mean anything. And it is an argument used by many politicians to pass unpopular (even bad) legislation.

 

[jeremy]

The problem that I and many others here are having is that this line of questioning from doctors is straight up gun hating. The AMA and the AAP have been anti gun for some years now. It's really not a health question. And it probably will go into some chart somewhere.

To me it has nothing to do with the 2A. I feel that line of questioning is intrusive and has no bearing on any Medical facts, research, or treatment...

And to reiterate what some folks have selectively ignored, the thrust of my post was simply to politely decline to answer the questioning instead of threatening violence, lying about storing weapons under the child's bed, or switching doctors. And my choice to answer the questions, as well as my motivation for doing so, was presented simply as my opinion (that's what those two pennies mean) and was in no way intended to infringe upon the rights of anyone here to decline. That opinion, I assure you, wasn't formulated as the result of any B.S., leftist or otherwise. To clarify, I'm in favor of the doctor asking the question...I do NOT think it's appropriate for the government to record, classify, or really have anything to do with this info. To me, though, these are separate issues.

I learned a long time ago my money talks a lot louder than I can either by yelling and cursing or by my refusal to answer. If you are lucky I may warn you once that you are starting to tread on thin ice. Not always though. There are a lot of Medical Professionals out there. Not all of them are automatrons either...

 

[DagerOne]

Hornett> I don't disagree that the questions about guns are inherently biased, nor do I disagree that perhaps the push from the AAP/AMA for them to be asked is misguided or stems from unreasonable fear or "gun hating". The OP's doctor asking "how many?" is inappropriate, without question.

I suppose my preferred scenario here would be the doctor simply assuming that there are guns in every home and asking only, "Are any weapons in the home secured so as to be unavailable to children and unauthorized users?" Answering "yes" doesn't reveal whether guns are present at all, as even someone with no weapons could answer the same way (though they may volunteer that they have no guns, there would be no requirement to do so). Do we all agree that everyone SHOULD be able to answer "yes" confidently to this question, or have I misread the basic principles of gun safety all this time?

And as I've already stated, I don't think the government should have any access to the answers to the questions for any purpose. Again, though, to me these are separate issues. Should the doctor make an effort to ensure the care and safety of his patients? IMO, yes. Is the question that I posed above reasonable? IMO, yes. Honestly, I think any line of questioning beyond that would likely give me pause as well, so I may be coming around to your way of thinking in that respect.

I still maintain that the doctors (other than those responsible for lobbying for the inclusion of this line of questioning into the standard of care) aren't to blame. *shrugs* Again, one guy's opinion...thank God you have the right to disagree with me, though.

 

[steve666]

My doctor knows that I am a shooter as I have gone to PopGuns indoor range after an appointment on a number of occaisions (it's close). From our conversations I know that he's been shooting and that his adult son, who is a cab driver in San Francisco, carries.

 

[Prometheus]

Unlike the AMA board, most Dr's are progun.

We had our last pediatrician ask about 5 years ago. I replied it wasn't relevant to the health of our child and asked her why she wasn't asking if there were any 5 gallon buckets or swimming pools (both of which kill more children than firearms do).

She was actually pretty cool about it and said the hospital (her office was thru the SSF group) made her ask, she thought it was BS.

The prior one freaked out when I told him the same line. Last time I went to that @$$hat.

The Pediatrician out here in Portage didn't ask, she's in a private practice though, probably why.

Remember 1 out of 2 doctors finished in the bottom half of their class

 

[STRIKER]

Never had those questions asked by any Doctor or Pediatrician,

Although now it won't shock me as much.

 

[glockednlocked]

Well being in the "peoples republic of bloomington" I do my best to blend in as a sheep it just makes things less complicated. Ironically to day was a visit to the doc for my little lamb. So as a good daddy sheep I carried said child, and my man bag containing 4 diapers, a bag of wipes, 2 bottles(loaded) a trash bag, some cherrios, 2 glocks, 4 mags, a big knife, a little knife and a flashlight. oh and a stuffed animal or 2.
Be kind, be polite, be respectfull and have a plan to distroy anyone or anything that mess with my little lamb.

oh and dont think I am a sell out to the cause I often open carry. I advocate for gun rights often. I just know what is really important and I maintain my focus and pick my battles.

 

[glockednlocked]

I couldnt make this stuff up! I am at the gunstore today and who is up at the counter? one of my docs who I had totaly pegged as an anti. He may still fall in the maya angelou catagory of thinking we the peeons are not as capable as he is. lol but still It was a surprise to see him there.

 

[kolob10]

try a website named doctors for sensible gun ownership. my doctor is an avid shooter.