Doctors asking about guns?

[VMI77]

Like I've said, before "It's not against the law to lie to your doctor."

My first reaction is "yet." But seriously, are you sure? It is against the law to lie to the Feds, and if he's submitting the data to the Feds it actually might be against the law. If it isn't, it will be in the not too distant future.

[Beiruty]

I ordered +5 extensions to my HK p30 and one 30rds mag just for extra safety and some giggle at the range.

[viking1000]

And on the VA side it is , Do you have thoughts of hurting yourself or others ???
I even got asked if I own guns ..I had a VA doc write on a prescription label, Do not shoot weapons while taking this medication..
There out there.

[gljjt]

Write a lower case cursive "na" in the blank. Looks like a "no"to me doc. Looks like an abbreviation for "not applicable" to me Mr. Fed.

[Jago668]

Never been asked. I've only ever had two normal doctors (not counting specialists for surgeries), both were my doctors for a good long while. First guy delivered me, and when he retired the second took over most of his patients. So they both know our family owns guns, the first doctor owned property that connected to ours along the back creek. Been with them since before all the nonsense with asking about guns started. If I end up with a new doctor, the answer will be no. Personally I don't know how much good it will do since I have a chl, and have bought new guns.

[JALLEN]

I had a clients years ago from another country. The brothers had immigrated here awhile back. They had a business together. One day I was meeting with them trying to iron out a situation they worried about. I asked a question which set off worried looks and a lengthy discussion in their native tongue. Finally the oldest said to me, "there is an old saying in our country, never lie to priests or lawyers," then proceeded to tell me the details they had been worried about disclosing.

I had to admire that one.

[chuck j]

Doctors are asking a lot of non medical questions now , it's part of the new COMPLETE check up . I don't tell them I own a firearm , no practical reason to and none of their business . With Homeland , drones , Patriot acts and such things could

[Countryside]

Just write "No. But I do have a clock built by a Muslim boy."

[rotor]

My doctor has more guns than I do which is hard to do. Pediatricians are on a big push to ask this. You don't have to tell your doctor anything about your firearms and I suggest you don't let him put anything in your records. They also want to know if you are gay, what your ethnicity is, and a bunch of other stupid things that are being pushed by our benevolent government. Don't reveal more than the basics.
As far as the 30.06 signs, many of them are active in university training situations and are forced to do the signs, my doctor is one of them. He is a great FP though and I leave my gun in the car and he leaves his gun in the car when he goes in the building. I wouldn't leave a quality doctor because of the 30.06. Just live with it.

[The Wall]

If it's not illegal to own firearms how could it be against the law to lie to your doctor about it. I don't care if they are sending the information to the Feds. You actually think the Feds are going to read every doctors application and forms. They don't even read the FFL forms you fill out when purchasing a gun. Some folks need to take out their tin foil hats. I think the doctors that do ask questions have their own agenda. Seems like from what I've read here that more doctors don't ask than do. That tells me there is no law requiring it.

[Glockster]

Some states have passed laws to prohibit doctors asking those questions (FL comes to mind but I'm sure that there must be others). It's too bad that HB 2823 didn't go anywhere or we'd have the same here.

[Abraham]

If I'm ever asked to answer so-called 'lifestyle' questions, I will not answer any of them.

Medical history, certainly, 'lifestyle', heck no!

If, the doctor says you can't be his/her patient without answering "none of your business" questions, no problem, there are others who don't do this type questioning.

Plus, if the good doctor says he's mandated by law to ask "none of your business" questions, I have to question that as none of the doctors I've seen has ever asked me such questions.

As a geezer, I see various doctors throughout the year and again, none have asked me about guns or lifestyle.

Perhaps, if more of us refuse to cooperate when given a form to fill out with "none of your business" questions such questions will be dropped.

[Richbirdhunter]

Just write "No. But I do have a clock built by a Muslim boy."

[Charles L. Cotton]

If I'm ever asked to answer so-called 'lifestyle' questions, I will not answer any of them.

Medical history, certainly, 'lifestyle', heck no!

This is exactly my position. If I was going to answer, I'd answer "yes" to the gun question. If any follow up questions were asked, I'd tell them it's none of their business, or I'd be a jerk and respond by asking if they are still cheating on their spouse.

I'm sure some people are scratching their heads, but I don't want this information to be used by anyone to claim gun ownership is down. It has already happened and to a significant percentage. The firearms industry knows that there are somewhere between 100 million and 150 million gun owners in the U.S. However, estimates based on surveys put the number around 80 million gun owners. While it is acknowledged that many people will not answer the gun question accurately for various reasons, the 80 million number is routinely used. I could easily see the government using the medical record question to argue that gun ownership is down even further.

Chas.

[VMI77]

If it's not illegal to own firearms how could it be against the law to lie to your doctor about it. I don't care if they are sending the information to the Feds. You actually think the Feds are going to read every doctors application and forms. They don't even read the FFL forms you fill out when purchasing a gun. Some folks need to take out their tin foil hats. I think the doctors that do ask questions have their own agenda. Seems like from what I've read here that more doctors don't ask than do. That tells me there is no law requiring it.

Yada, yada, yada....any suggestion of possible government wrong doing means someone is wearing a "tin foil hat." What a tiresome refrain....about as thoughtful as calling someone who opposes Obama a "racist."

Seriously?...this is the new America. You can go to jail for taking your own money out of your own bank account in the wrong amounts. Say you have direct deposit and take $2,000 of cash out of your account every month --because you want to have cash for whatever reasons and need the rest of the money in your account for expenses. After 3 months you'll have taken out $6,000. Oops, you avoided the $5,000 reporting requirement...that's called "structuring." People have been prosecuted for doing just that. Not everyone by any means....the prosecutions are either highly random or selective.

Then we have crimes like "constructive possession" where you own items that are all perfectly legal to own but could be combined to create an object that is illegal. You can go to jail for that too.

It is a crime to lie on some government forms. You can be prosecuted for lying to get your child into a public school outside your zipcode: http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/show ... brien.html It's a felony to lie to get into the military, and you can go to jail for lying on a medical application: http://www.aopa.org/News-and-Video/All- ... pplication

Still, note I said it may not be a crime "yet" (I don't really know) --many things are possible in this country today that would have been inconceivable 30 years ago. However, your statement indicates that you don't understand how laws like this work. They don't check every form and they aren't going to. So, for the sake of argument, let's assume it is illegal...you can probably lie and not get caught because they're not checking and can't. You only get prosecuted like the pilot in the article above, when something happens that results in your application or form being checked.

It's the same way gun bans work in places like the UK and New York. The government isn't likely to match 4473s and they're not going to come knocking door to door if they make owning unregistered "assault" weapons illegal. But if something happens, like your home is broken into, or you use a gun in self-defense and they discover you have an unregistered "assault" weapon....THEN you get prosecuted.