There are many things which are routinely found in houses in the US which you don't really want kids to get a hold of.
We have little plastic covers on the power outlets, for example, to prevent the kid from inserting something metal into them and getting an electrical shock. Knives kept nice and out of reach.
Why ask specifically about firearms?
The reverse bill (mandating that pediatricians ask about firearms) had a few tries in the California legislature.
Forcing doctors to all kids about guns
Quote:
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Californians balked last year when Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, proposed a substantially similar bill to Senate Bill 765 by Sen. Wesley Chesbro, D-Santa Rosa. Sent to the "suspense file" in the Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday, SB 765 resurrects a concept eventually removed from the vetoed Steinberg bill -- codification of the American Academy of Pediatrics publication "Recommendations for preventive pediatric health care." That report specifically includes recommendations made in the AAP's 1999 publication, "The Role of the Pediatrician in Youth Violence Prevention in Clinical Practice," which outlines measures to be taken by pediatricians in violence prevention, including advocacy of gun-control proposals.
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There is definitely politics involved, on both sides.
It's not about the oppression of gun owners as much about the villification of guns. That they are so non-routine that they must specifically be asked about.
[Edit: I had a look at the guidelines, and the recommendation is to advise about safety hazards. Make sure that the parents know of the dangers of swimming pools, bicycle accidents, firearms, and so on. There is no need for a specific question of "do you own a firearm?" They can be covered in the same advice issuance as the rest and such advice does not seem to be prohibited by the proposed legislation]
NTM