Some anti-gunner politicians have gone to devious lengths to deprive people of their Second Amendment rights. Whether it is lying about the effectiveness of gun control (it isn’t effective) or about how guns are the problem (they aren’t), deceptiveness (or, if we are giving the benefit of a doubt, ignorance) is the hallmark of anti-gun legislation and anti-gunner politicians.
Sadly, some states want doctors to look for excuses to take guns away from their patients, but, of course, that information isn’t disclosed to the patient before the conversation starts. And some medical journals advocate this type of deceptiveness “for our own good.”
One example of this, cited by Ben Guarino in The Washington Post, was published by the Annals of Internal Medicine. Guarino writes that doctors should gather personal information such as gun ownership from patients and should share it with “appropriate third parties.” Just in case there is any question, his definition of an appropriate third party is a government agency that can take your guns from you.
Now, this is dangerous, from a rights standpoint, for your doctor to be doing this. Frankly, on a Federal level, they are not required by law to ask this information, but some do it anyway. The problem is that most people, and that includes most doctors, don’t know the first thing about firearm safety and about protection from personal threats. This means that they are not qualified to be able to tell when a person should or should not have a gun.
So, what should you do if your doctor asks you if you have a gun? Jazz Shaw says,
There was a time when I’d have suggested that such a conversation was harmless no matter how you decided to answer. Sadly, I live in New York, and any gun owner here can tell you that you no longer have that luxury or reason for any confidence in the privacy of the doctor – patient relationship. Since the passage of the New York Safe Actthere have been tens of thousands of residents stripped of their Second Amendment rights, many of whom were placed on the government’s “No Second Amendment Rights” list as a result of an anonymous call from a medical professional with “concerns.” There is no need for court adjudication to prove someone is dangerously unbalanced or insane. Just a call saying you “seem depressed” will be enough. It’s then up to you to spend the time and vast amount of attorney fees required to go to court and prove that you’re not crazy.
Because of this, Shaw continues,
So what do you do? I normally would advise against this under any other conditions, but as far as I’m concerned you should lie. If your doctor asks anything about firearms in your home, don’t just say, “I’m uncomfortable discussing that” or bring up privacy issues. That leaves them free to interpret the answer as they will. Just lie through your teeth and tell them there are no guns in the house. Of course, what you do is up to you, but that’s how I plan to handle it if the situation arises. Leave law enforcement matters to the police and your doctor can just stick to curing what actually ails you.
I’m not a fan of lying, and, frankly, lying to your doctor about your lifestyle activities, diet, exercise routine, parent or siblings’ health issues (to identify genetic factors) are terrible ideas. Limiting that kind of information means that they may not have all of the appropriate information to give you a proper diagnosis and recommendation.
But guns aren’t a health issue, no matter how much anti-gunners want to define it as such. Guns are a personal protection issue. They are a protect-your-family-from-harm safety issue. Your guns are none of your doctor’s business, so it may be worth considering Shaw’s recommendation if you want to keep your guns.