In 2011, the state of Florida passed a law prohibiting physicians from discussing guns with their patients.
In the court system, communications between a physician and his patient are protected by law. The physician is not required to tell the state anything. He has the same immunity as a lawyer has.
Legislators in Florida decided that they would not only ignore this Constitutional immunity, they would prohibit the physician from talking about guns.
How these bananaheads thought they could get away with this is beyond me. A judge has thrown out the law.
Physicians quite properly sued the state. They won in court.
The judge wrote this:
“What is curious about this law — and what makes it different from so many other laws involving practitioners’ speech — is that it aims to restrict a practitioner’s ability to provide truthful, non-misleading information to a patient, whether relevant or not at the time of the consult with the patient.”
The law was called the Firearm Owners’ Privacy Act. “An Ocala couple complained that a doctor asked them about guns and they refused to answer. The physician refused to see them anymore.” That should be his right. If he does not want to treat someone, he should politely show them to the door.
The great thing about the free market is this (or should be): the right to refuse to make deals with anyone, for any reason. This principle has been under attack for 50 years.
The legislation was pushed by the NRA — the National Rifle Association.
The NRA has been shot down in mid-flight, like a duck in duck season. This is good. The right to keep and bear arms does not need a law prohibiting free speech to defend it.
The decision may be appealed. I think it will be shot down again.
The law is absurd. It seeks to apply a limitation from the state to an area of private, voluntary arrangements. It invokes the right of privacy — immunity from the state — to apply to physicians.
The law says doctors and other healthcare practitioners “shall respect a patient’s right to privacy and should refrain” from asking about gun ownership or whether people have guns in their homes.
We don’t need a law to protect us from nosy physicians. We can just say, “It’s none of your business, you liberal twit.” Then we can find a new physician. I know I would.
The Florida law is one more example of the Nanny State. This monster keeps invading our lives.
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Published on July 6, 2012. The original is here.
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