government
Court blocks entire don’t ask gun law
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted July 23, 2012
A Florida federal judge has put to rest a legal dispute between physicians and the state of Florida over whether physicians can question patients about having firearms in the house.
U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke on June 29 permanently blocked the state from enacting a measure that prevented physicians from discussing gun ownership with patients. Florida Gov. Rick Scott approved the National Rifle Assn.-backed law on June 1, 2011.
Under the legislation, physicians who asked patients about gun ownership without justification, entered unnecessary information about such ownership in medical records or discriminated against gun-owning patients faced possible sanctions by the state medical board. Florida physicians, including representatives from the American Academy of Family Physicians, challenged the law in court. The doctors said asking about gun ownership and storage was an essential patient safety issue, especially in houses with small children.
In a Sept. 14, 2011, opinion, a district court ruled the measure violated doctors’ First Amendment freedoms. The state appealed, asking the court to sever two provisions of the law and allow them to stand. But in her latest opinion, Cooke said those provisions were vague and overly broad.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/07/23/gvbf0723.htm.
