Staff Reports
Gov. Rick Scott approved a deal to pay $1.1 million in legal fees to groups that “successfully challenged an NRA-backed Florida law that prevented doctors from talking to their patients about the risks of guns in the home,” according to a Sunday news release from the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
One of the law firms, Ropes & Gray, “announced it would donate $100,000 of its fee award to the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, enabling the center to expand its initiatives to protect children from the risks posed by guns,” the release said.
Florida officials last month declined to appeal a federal ruling striking down the so-called “docs versus Glocks” law. In 2011, Florida lawmakers passed a bill which prevents doctors from asking patients about guns. Since then, a federal court invalidated several parts of the law.
The National Rifle Association supported the “gag law,” which put several restrictions on doctors and other health care professionals.
Florida had to pay the attorneys’ fees because “the law was found to violate constitutional rights,” the release said.
“Florida taxpayers just paid $1.1 million because of the gun industry’s unconstitutional, anti-truth agenda designed to increase gun sales at any cost — including children’s lives,” said Dan Gross, president of the Brady Center, in a statement.
“Physicians have a critical role to play in preventing these deaths by talking to patients about the true dangers of guns in the home, and we will not allow their voices to be silenced by the gun industry,” he added. “This award is a message to states to think twice before enacting or defending laws that put lives at risk just to boost the gun industry’s bottom line.”
7 comments
Reid Friedson, PhD
July 24, 2017 at 8:34 am
Feel free to sign and share the People of Florida’s July 4, 2016 corrupt racketeeting (RICO) petition against Rick Scott and Associates to the United States Justice Department and the 2017-18 Florida Constitution Revision Commission: https://www.change.org/p/people-of-the-state-of-florida-v-rick-scott-et-al
Spence Price
July 24, 2017 at 9:28 am
I object to being included in this petition. I am a citizen of the State of Florida and disagree with this petition’s content
Dr. Reid Friedson
July 24, 2017 at 10:34 am
If you did not sign the petition you are not a petitioner. Duh.
Anon
July 24, 2017 at 1:08 pm
Nobody cares
Don Williams
July 24, 2017 at 11:55 am
This was an incredibly stupid law that illustrates how much of a stranglehold the NRA has over our Governor and many of our legislators. It was so bad that when the NRA first proposed it, those in power should have given them/her (Ms. Marion, the head lobbyist) the look from hell and told them/her, “Are you out of your fricken mind??” There are lots of good things done by the NRA , including encouraging/promoting hunting and protection of the natural resources that go along with that very family oriented hobby and also helping prevent unnecessary restrictions from being imposed on gun ownership. I’m a pro-gun southerner and 4th generation Floridian who owns 5 guns and enjoys shooting all of them with my wife, sons and daughters. However, this Doc v. Glock law is one and certainly not the only example of the down side to individuals or organizations who, on their chosen issue, have such a narrow, single minded view and focus on that issue that they then adopt a similarly narrow and unbending agenda that throws aside, chastises and seeks to annihilate any consideration of any opposing viewpoints, regardless of their merits. With this law, the NRA was guilty of this nasty form of myopathy, even though very valid and common sensical competing interests were involved on the other side, such as doctors “being allowed”, if they chose to, to fully use all of their training, experience, common sense and their own constitutional rights to have discussions with their patients and family members/parents of minor children about the presence/location/accessibility of guns in the house, which are issues that involve the safety of their patients. Patients and parents are ordinary people, some of whom never even think about where they store their guns and about whether those locations are safe or appropriate given the young age of their children. Allowing a doctor to have what should be a “Duh! ” discussion with someone is certainly preferable to having a “dead ” discussion when it’s too late to help. Politicians in the great state of Florida, have some guts when stupid laws, regardless of the topic and who is involved, are proposed. Shut them down, tell them why you cannot support them on this one, and in the process restore sanity to our state and maintain your own independence and integrity.
Tom
July 26, 2017 at 12:43 am
The problem is that doctors do not always have the correct statistics. They might be getting them from the Brady center who skew statistics to match their myopic view of the subject. Most of the studies and statistics done are comissioned by one side or the other so the statistics are going not going to be appropriate for all audiences. Which brings me to my next point. I am a gun owner and I taught my children gun safety. If I caught a Doctor speaking to my children about gun safety and asking about the storage of weapons on my property, it would be the LAST time we used that doctor. It is outside the purview of his duties to question my second amendment or the way I parent my children. I understand that not everyone is safe with their firearms. No one is more aware of that than I am but it is not the job of a doctor to worry about who is and who is not safe with their firearms. If they don’t already think they’re God you would REALLY give them a God complex.
Robert Ellis
July 26, 2017 at 8:53 am
Absolutely Tom! A prominent doctor came to the high school where I teach and spoke to the PTA about “Gun Safety.” The PowerPoint went on and on with misinformation about “gun show loopholes”, etc. in a very convincing way to advocate for more control over peoples’ guns through doctors. You would think that at a school presentation the doctor and parents (there were no other teachers or students in attendance even though I offered extra credit) would at least mention educating children and adults about gun safety. Not one word about it! With almost all the mass gun murderers being mentally ill, you’d think doctors would be more concerned with targeting and treating patients with mental health issues, to prevent more senseless violence, than targeting law abiding gun owners.
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