Gun Friendly Doctor - What would you do next time?
Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2017 3:34 pm
I've reached the age where I have to see a dermatologist at least once a year for skin cancers. Too many years working out in the sun.
I had become dissatisfied with my old doc, and decided to go to a new on that a friend had recommended. He works in a fairly large clinic with a bunch of other dermatologists. When I arrived at my appointment, I locked my gun up in the truck but left the holster attached to my belt and my two spare mags were still in the belt pouches on my weak side. As I approached the door, I looked very carefully for signs and I only saw a small gun buster sign to the right of the front door. But, since I had already disarmed I just went in anyway without going back for my gun.
After getting checked in, waiting a bit, and getting called back, the nurse visited with me a while and took down some information. She then told me to remove my shirt and the doctor would be in shortly. So, I took off my shirt and there I sat in just my jeans and boots with two loaded mags and an empty holster out in the open.
The doc came in, examined me, froze off a few lesions on my face, then asked me to stand up so he could look at my back. After he had finished I broached the subject of the gun buster sign on the front door. I said, "Doc, obviously you have seen my empty holster, but your little gun sign has no legal meaning for license holders. Would you care to comment on the subject?"
He talked for a minute or two about how all these shooting incidents that we hear about take place in gun free zones, and how he also had his LTC and would feel much better if everyone that had their license carried all the time. He than said, "But I don't run the place, I just work here." So I asked him for his advice to me as a patient about what I should do with my gun the next time I come to see him. He said, "As far as I'm concerned you can keep your gun on you. There may be some other staff here that would be uncomfortable, and probably some of our patients would't like to see you open carrying a gun. But if you keep it concealed, by all means you can wear it back to the exam room."
After he left, the nurse was recording some more information (she had been in the room the whole time and heard his comments) and she looked at me with a sly smile and asked what kind of gun I carried. We got into a short discussion about different types of pistols, and she ended with, "Don't worry, I won't tell anybody. But I may not be the nurse you see next time."
Given these details, would you carry into that clinic the next time you go? Understand that he is only one doctor of about 10 that work there, and the clinic recently got sold to a large consortium from out of state. Personally, I think I'm going to carry on and walk in with my gun concealed. No one is going to see it but my new doctor who already told me he was okay with that, and a nurse. The nurse could be trouble. And if she raises a stink there may be 30.06/30.07 signs shortly thereafter.
I had become dissatisfied with my old doc, and decided to go to a new on that a friend had recommended. He works in a fairly large clinic with a bunch of other dermatologists. When I arrived at my appointment, I locked my gun up in the truck but left the holster attached to my belt and my two spare mags were still in the belt pouches on my weak side. As I approached the door, I looked very carefully for signs and I only saw a small gun buster sign to the right of the front door. But, since I had already disarmed I just went in anyway without going back for my gun.
After getting checked in, waiting a bit, and getting called back, the nurse visited with me a while and took down some information. She then told me to remove my shirt and the doctor would be in shortly. So, I took off my shirt and there I sat in just my jeans and boots with two loaded mags and an empty holster out in the open.
The doc came in, examined me, froze off a few lesions on my face, then asked me to stand up so he could look at my back. After he had finished I broached the subject of the gun buster sign on the front door. I said, "Doc, obviously you have seen my empty holster, but your little gun sign has no legal meaning for license holders. Would you care to comment on the subject?"
He talked for a minute or two about how all these shooting incidents that we hear about take place in gun free zones, and how he also had his LTC and would feel much better if everyone that had their license carried all the time. He than said, "But I don't run the place, I just work here." So I asked him for his advice to me as a patient about what I should do with my gun the next time I come to see him. He said, "As far as I'm concerned you can keep your gun on you. There may be some other staff here that would be uncomfortable, and probably some of our patients would't like to see you open carrying a gun. But if you keep it concealed, by all means you can wear it back to the exam room."
After he left, the nurse was recording some more information (she had been in the room the whole time and heard his comments) and she looked at me with a sly smile and asked what kind of gun I carried. We got into a short discussion about different types of pistols, and she ended with, "Don't worry, I won't tell anybody. But I may not be the nurse you see next time."
Given these details, would you carry into that clinic the next time you go? Understand that he is only one doctor of about 10 that work there, and the clinic recently got sold to a large consortium from out of state. Personally, I think I'm going to carry on and walk in with my gun concealed. No one is going to see it but my new doctor who already told me he was okay with that, and a nurse. The nurse could be trouble. And if she raises a stink there may be 30.06/30.07 signs shortly thereafter.
I use Kelsey-Seybold Clinic and unfortunately they post both 30.06 & 30.07 signs so my gun stays in the car.