NRA Urges Court To Overturn ‘Docs vs Glocks’ Ruling

October 9, 2012

The National Rifle Association is asking the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a lower court ruling that blocked the state from enforcing a law aimed at restricting doctors from questioning patients about guns.

“The Firearm Owners’ Privacy Act is another reasonable regulation of medical practice,” the NRA said in a brief supporting the state’s appeal of the July ruling. “It exhorts doctors to stick to practicing medicine when examining patients, rather than pushing their own political agendas, and it protects patients from doctors who refuse to do so.”

The case has centered, at least in part, on the free-speech rights of doctors.

In a July ruling, U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke wrote that the law “aims to restrict a practitioner’s ability to provide truthful, non-misleading information to a patient.” The controversial measure, which the Legislature passed in 2011, has been dubbed the “docs vs. glocks” law.

A coalition of opponents, including the Florida Pediatric Society, filed the lawsuit in Miami and raised First Amendment issues. In the brief, the NRA disputed that the law targets “truthful, non-misleading” speech about firearms safety. “To the contrary, the act targets discrimination against and harassment of individuals who exercise their fundamental right to keep and bear arms, while leaving physicians free to exercise their good faith judgment in discussing firearms safety with patients.”

By The News Service of Florida

Comments

16 Responses to “NRA Urges Court To Overturn ‘Docs vs Glocks’ Ruling”

  1. David Huie Green on October 10th, 2012 11:11 am

    CONTEMPLATING:
    “Sieg Hiel, Sieg Hiel, Sieg Hiel, Das Vadnya Komrade or whatever dictatorships language you speak!”

    HA!!
    And they call ME paranoid.

    On the other hand, THEY are hiding under every bush (or is it they ARE hiding?).

    David for intelligent life

  2. William on October 10th, 2012 7:20 am

    >>>One no longer has to wonder if the media is leftist progressive (communist is a better description), they confirm that by their rabid censorship of ANYTHING that affronts their insanity, like fact, after fact, after fact that shows their unsubstantiated opines that ARE directly related to the subject being discussed, in the light of the pathological lie that it is they are promoting, removed from a public forum.

    Nope. Your comments were automatically deleted from this story because you posted a comment of 903 words followed by subsequent comments of 2,360 words. Comments, per the rules on the bottom of every page, are limited to 300 words. You were 2,963 words over the limit. A book publisher might be better for you rather than our comment section.

  3. RLEmery on October 10th, 2012 6:05 am

    One no longer has to wonder if the media is leftist progressive (communist is a better description), they confirm that by their rabid censorship of ANYTHING that affronts their insanity, like fact, after fact, after fact that shows their unsubstantiated opines that ARE directly related to the subject being discussed, in the light of the pathological lie that it is they are promoting, removed from a public forum.

    Sieg Hiel, Sieg Hiel, Sieg Hiel, Das Vadnya Komrade or whatever dictatorships language you speak!

  4. hellbilly on October 9th, 2012 9:25 pm

    whats the big deal. just tell the doc no if its that big of deal. its not like your under oath. ive never met a doctor who cares if you got a gun or not.

  5. LibertyBill on October 9th, 2012 8:21 pm

    Huh! If I am ever asked the question by my doctor if I have guns in my home, I plan on asking HIM if he has ever taken any unwanted physical liberties with his patients. If he wants to pry into my business, then turnabout is fair play! (;D)

    LibertyBill

  6. David Huie Green on October 9th, 2012 7:49 pm

    A doctor should be able to ask the patient anything and the patient can answer or not answer as the patient sees fit. There is no call for government interference.

    David for limitations
    on the power of government

  7. BHirsh on October 9th, 2012 7:37 pm

    Kathy, we want to be left alone, without any do-gooder leftist meddling by doctors or anyone else. No one has the legitimate right to stick his/her nose into our private business uninvited.

    It’s called liberty. Perhaps you’ve heard of it….?

  8. Kathy on October 9th, 2012 5:22 pm

    Once again if you are paranoid enough to be frightened to tell a doctor or anyone you own a gun, maybe you should not own one. NRA should not be up in your business telling you what you should or should not do. Maybe its the NRA that should be investigated.

  9. Wendy Weinbaum on October 9th, 2012 3:45 pm

    Doctors have no business snooping into the private lives of their patients : That is a boundary violation. And, as a Jewess in the US, I can only say that anti-gun NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg is an embarrasment to all American Jewry. People like HIM are why all REAL Americans now put our 2nd Amendment FIRST! Remember that America wasn’t won with a registered gun!

  10. JDM on October 9th, 2012 2:16 pm

    Doctors are not experts on firearms or their safety, therefore they shouldn’t be attempting to inform me and others as to their merit in societity or in my home. They themselves are more likely to kill me though erronious treatment than for me to be shot by a firearm. As I understand this it is part of the new order of bussiness for doctors to help the Government gather this information. It is also my practice to inform them when asked, “politely” that information is on a need to know basis and they don’t need to know. enough said.

  11. northend alumnus on October 9th, 2012 11:37 am

    I don’t understand the controversy. As many physicians as there are in the yellow pages. If you are seeing a doctor that you feel is “sticking his/her nose in your business”, then STOP seeing that doctor and FIND ANOTHER! IT’S THAT SIMPLE.
    My children’s doctor ask me if they are wearing a seat belt everytime that they are ridding in a vehicle and what kind of grades they are making in school. I don’t take those questions as her sticking her nose in my family’s busy. I look at as her wanting to make sure EVERYTHING is well with my child. Here is a bit of advice that my mother taught me. I will pass it on to everyone and I will not charge you for it.
    *You can choose to find offense if any situation OR you can look for something positive in any situation. Whichever you choose, will ultimately determine the amount of stress and happiness you have in your life!

  12. RLEmery on October 9th, 2012 10:59 am

    When the doctors put into their safety discussions and questionaires to enlighten their patients that they themselves, doctors, are 12,000 to 25,000 times more likely to kill you than a cpl licensee……

    Or that they, doctors are 150,000 to 360, 000 times more likely to killed your cild by medical malpractice than an accidental firearm discharge…

    Then we will consider what the doctor does or does not have the right to demand.

    Besides, since a doctor is licensed to practice medicine in their area of expertise, any doctor who pulls such crappola and does not have a license of expertise in firearms or firearms safety can have a boundaries violation filed against them as well as a civil suit for practising without said license.

  13. David Schwartz on October 9th, 2012 10:14 am

    Why is it stupid to call law enforcement when someone gets shot? It seems sort of obvious.

  14. jp on October 9th, 2012 10:13 am

    Kathy, For your argument to hold water, a doctor would also have to ask about sharp knives, automobiles, ropes, poisons, etc. that one would use to kill themselves.

    The doctor would, without a doubt, make a record of a positive answer about gun ownership in their files. Under “Obamacare” these files are subject to inspection
    by government agencies. In my humble opinion, the government already knows too much about the private business of its’ citizens. Besides, in what way would gun ownership aid in treatment for the flu?

  15. Kathy on October 9th, 2012 9:12 am

    For a lot of reasons, how can you people be so uniformed. Your son or daughter may be suicidal, you may suicidal, you may mentally challenged and not know when it is more than a toy. There are a lot of reasons. Doctors don’t usually get into your business unless it is something that is important they don’t have time to nose.
    If you are paranoid about telling then perhaps you shouldn’t have a gun.

  16. Sane American on October 9th, 2012 8:41 am

    Why does a Dr. need to know if I own a gun? Why should that have anything to do with medical treatment? If I get shot and go to the hospital, the first thing they do is call law enforcement. This is another stupid law and I hope Mr. Ingram did not vote to pass this. If so, I probably won’t vote for him again.