The other perspective
Greetings all, I'm relatively new to this blog but have been reading daily for a while now. I appreciate the insight I've gained in reading various threads. I have found a lot of good information here.
I just wanted to try and provide some of the other perspective as to why you might get asked about access to firearms at your physician's office.
I'm a long time gun owner and have been trained by my father (a NRA instructor) on proper care and handling since childhood. I currently have a HCP for TN and carry. I am also board certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. All this being said, at every adult or pediatric physical I ask if there are firearms in the home.
I feel my job at physicals as your physician is to assess your overall health and try to prevent all the common causes of mortality and morbidity. That is, my job is to try and prevent premature death or disability while maintaining the healthiest lifestyle possible. To that end I ask about all sorts of lifestyle choices and risk factors including smoking, exercise, diet, seat belt use, prior screening tests, immunizations, depression symptoms and so forth. So what are the common causes of death and disability in America? Obviously heart disease and cancer are the two big ones for adults. What about teenagers? The number one cause of death in teenagers is accidents caused by either motor vehicles or firearms. This includes homicide and suicide by firearms. So I ask parents and their teens about seat belt usage and if there are firearms in the home. In doing so I have the opportunity to discuss proper safety measures they might want to think about if they haven't already.
Now pretty much everyone on this website will by definition already have thought about safety measures and how to secure their firearms when not in use. There are a lot of people out there that don't know that though. I have the obligation to help them in that area. My spiel goes something like this. "Are there any firearms in the home? The reason I ask is that one of the leading causes of death in teenagers is accidents, including homicide and suicide, involving firearms. Now, I'm as big of a supporter of the Second Amendment as anyone and own my own firearms but if you have trigger locks, gun safes, and proper training you can greatly reduce that risk of death. And remember even if our children are well trained and respect firearms their friends might not so lets make sure our firearms are secured properly." It is simple, straightforward, and polite. I use similar language to discuss why seal belts are a good idea, why smoking is a bad idea, why exercise and proper diet make sense, and a lot of other issues.
In adults I ask the same question for two reasons. First, by law they are responsible for their children's safety. Hence, they need to make sure to secure any weapons they have. Second, up to 7.5% of adult Americans are currently suffering from depression severe enough to effect their ability to function that means at least one adult patient in my average day at the office will be struggling with depression. The number one method of suicide in depressed people is by self inflicted gunshot wounds. If I ask about depression and firearms in adults it is to try and help avoid that outcome.
So, I really want people to consider that physician's are generally working toward the patient's good and trying to identify problems before they become dangerous. Just like a good range officer is looking out for those under his care and trying to make sure there isn't a bad outcome. We as physician's are not interested in your home security measures or secretly working for some conspiracy against 2a. It is about preserving your quality of life and your health. The physician patient relationship is built on trust anyway. No law and no court can break that. Everything is in the strictest confidence, but if you don't want to answer something that is fine. Just say so politely or better yet ask why they are asking the question so we can talk about it.
I've had great experiences with this approach. People are generally very receptive on how to doing things well. I've even had the opportunity to connect people with my Firearms Safety Course instructor so they could get their carry permit too.
Anyway, thanks again for all the advice in the many other threads I've read. I appreciate the years of experience from which I can learn. I'm sure it will continue.
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