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Old 05-10-2011, 01:48 AM
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California Tanker California Tanker is offline
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Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: San Jose, California
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Default Re: What the fuck, Florida?

Quote:
Looking at it frankly and in the cold light of reason, how could anyone assume that a group as varied and numerous as all the doctors in Florida somehow have a united political agenda to demonize private gun ownership? That isn't even a proposition worthy of serious attention.
From the American Academy of Pediatrics, which I believe is the largest association of such doctors and issues guidelines.
http://aappolicy.aappublications.org...103/1/173#SEC3

Quote:
Pediatricians should advocate for:

<snip>

• reduced availability or elimination of handguns in all communities through handgun regulation and public education
Now, if you can find a similar statement from medical bodies saying that their members should advocate that swimming pools or low power outlets should be eliminated as a matter of policy, then I'll accept that there's no political bent to it.

I have no doubt that there are Florida pediatricians who like guns. They may not be asking the question. (Indeed, the fact that the California legislature considered mandating that the question be asked, I've no idea if it passed or not, implies that some pediatricians will not, in spite of the guidelines of their professional body)

Quote:
Yes, they can go over stuff in a general way, but why waste a lot of time talking about stuff that isn't pertinent to that individual family?
If it's a common enough hazard to be worth asking if they have such an item, it's probably also common enough to warrant mentioning even if the individual family doesn't have one.

It is not beyond the realms of probability, for example, that just because you don't have a swimming pool in your garden, you're not going to go to your parents' house or neighbour's house who does have one and parents should be aware of the dangers. Take the bus everywhere and don't own a car? Still worth talking about car seats in case you rent a car on holiday. Similarly, just because you don't own a firearm now doesn't mean that you're not going to go out and buy one the following day. These are all common hazards, and should be all worthy of discussion by default.

[Edit, after doing a little more digging.
The AMA's position also is, as a professional body, in favour of gun control, but apparently silent on restricting swimming pools.
Pediatric practice based evaluation of the Steps t... [Inj Prev. 1999] - PubMed result reports on the effectiveness of the AAP program designed to encourage a decrease in firearm ownership.

The 'none of your business' answer has been the advocated response for the last few years, at least to the specific questions of "How many, what type, and where are they stored?" Incidents such as the Massachussets doctor who asked a five-year-old these questions, and then filed a police report to verify the (legal) ownership of the firearms have reinforced that idea. However, it seems that what started the push in Florida was a doctor's response to that answer in 2010 being "Fine, then, go find another doctor."

If the position of the doctors was just 'ask if there are firearms, and go/no go with advice on co-existance depending on the answer', that's one thing. But because the professional organisations have made it a policy issue, and because the questions often go further than that yes/no question (and are sometimes accompanied by a citing of statistics of how dangerous things are if you keep your gunin order to encourage the removal of the firearm) that has made the question far more politically sensitive than it should be. I think the law as proposed is a little overreaching, it should limit the questioning on firearms, not prohibit it. But on the other hand, medical profession has brought it on itself by getting into the politics of it.

NTM
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Last edited by California Tanker; 05-10-2011 at 04:37 AM.
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Adam (05-10-2011)
 
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