Most Americans have strong feelings about gun control, whether in favor of more or less. Legislation has even been passed restricting physicians from discussing guns with patients. What is your opinion about healthcare professionals discussing safekeeping of guns in the home?
Gun ownership and regulation is a very emotional issue in the U.S. and there has been strong reaction to whether physicians and other healthcare providers should be involved in doing more to curb gun related injuries and deaths. I would like to hear some of your opinions regarding physician involvement, but first let's look at some of the gun statistics in the U.S.
More than 108,000 people are shot per year in murders, assaults, suicides, suicide attempts, unintentional shootings or by police intervention.
* More than 32,000 of them die.
* The U.S. has the most gun homicides of any developed nation. 29.7 per 100,000.
* Everyday 297 people are shot.
* 89 people die.
* 31 of them are murdered.
* 55 are suicides.
* 2 are killed unintentionally.
* 1 is killed by police.
* 1 is unknown intent.
* One in five deaths are people ages 15-29.
Over 17,000 American children and teens are injured or killed each year due to gun violence.
* 2,677 of those children die.
* Nearly 48 youth are shot per day including 7 fatalities.
* 5 are murdered and 2 are suicides.
1 in 3 homes with children have guns.
* 42% of parents with guns keep at least one unlocked.
* 25% of parents with guns keep at least loaded.
* 3 in 4 children know where firearms are kept in the home.
(Statistics; bradycampaign.org).
It has been suggested that clinicians could play a major role in reducing children's access to guns by asking if there is a gun in the home, and if so, counseling on firearm storage practices. One study showed that patients who received counseling on firearm storage were more likely to make a change in storage practice than patients who did not receive counseling. (64% vs 33%). (J Am Board Fam.Pract).
Pediatrician's offices and hospitals routinely give out infant and car seats, would it also be appropriate to distribute trigger locks and lockboxes? Firearm related injuries are a public health issue, so should there be public health initiatives regarding firearms such as there have been for reducing tobacco, toy and motor vehicle related deaths?
When and if I am asked that question .. the health care provider has no right to know. My right to own a weapon is personal.
Let's say I offer the information that I have a 9mm Glock in my home...what exactly is the person obtaining this personal information going to do with it?
I am surprised that this thread is still going!
You have the right to own a gun 100%. You also have the right to refuse to answer the question if asked by a healthcare provider.
Asking for this information does not infringe on your constitutional right to own a firearm. Which as a libertarian, I fully support. What this question does is simply give your healthcare provider information to help fill in some educational gaps that you may be missing.
While you have no issues with gun safety in your home, you are not most people. Am I the only one taking care of people in the hospital that literally have no common sense? Is this just a trend in my hospital? Like the kid I took care of with a bullet wound to the chest, because her grandaddy was teaching her how to shoot TURTLES and was shocked when the bullet bounced off?
These are the people this question is for. Not for the educated people out there that own guns and take care of them.
The question is for clueless grandaddy, who doesn't know that you should lock your guns up and away from kids.
That's all.
Here's how I ask the question.
"Anyone smoke in the home? Any alcohol, drug, or domestic abuse in the home? Are there guns in the home? Are there smoke detectors in the home? Do you have a pool?"
I could go on.
We document this information and then educate if we see the need.
Simple as that.
We are not after your guns, nor do I have a personal/political vendetta that I am out to fulfill.
I just want to keep my patients safe, and we all know as nurses one of the best ways to keep kids (and adults) out of the hospital is to educate them on the best ways to STAY out of the hospital.
Specializes in Pediatrics/Developmental Pediatrics/Research/psych.
In general, I don't understand why this is an issue. I know that gun ownership is a loaded topic, but so are many life choices. I don't understand how asking about it as part of a safety assessment, whether psych, peds, or any setting, infringes upon rights. In fact, I don't even know why one would hide gun ownership. If you own a gun, you have thought it through, and think it is best for you. Why would it be an issue to be asked about it?
Also, I saw mention of the fact that a provider can't share information about gun ownership. However, information collected for health reasons would be confidential anyway, so no sharing occurs.
As I mentioned, in psyc and peds I frequently assess for gun and other weapons as a safety concern.
When and if I am asked that question .. the health care provider has no right to know. My right to own a weapon is personal.
Let's say I offer the information that I have a 9mm Glock in my home...what exactly is the person obtaining this personal information going to do with it?
Ask you if it's secured where the kids can't get their hands on the weapon. If you want to refuse to answer the question, fine. But you don't have a constitutional leg to stand on to not answer. You're simply choosing not to answer.
So during an ER visit, a patient admits to having a gun in the house.
Now the health care system is responsible to teach them the proper use of the weapon?
Who would be the narcissist in this situation?
The purpose is not to teach them the proper use of the weapon-it's to discuss whether the weapon is stored safely and securely so accidents are minimized. Is that so awful and invasive???
I have some land around the border by Lardeo, We keep a hunting cabin down there. We basically had to keep it unlocked because of the illegal aliens that kept breaking in looking for food water or stuff to steal. They leave huge piles of trash. Most everyone in this area keeps armed due to the Illegal aliens down there destroying property and thieving.
Dude, I see a number a posts from you about "illegal aliens." Even when the topic has nothing to do with "illegal aliens."
"According to the Guttmacher Institute, there were 1.21 million abortions performed in the United States in 2008, the most recent year for which data is available. This amounts to 3,322 abortions per day.
Fetuses don't shoot guns. This isn't an abortion argument. Actually, since crime has gone down as abortion as gone up, maybe we should be more worried about unlocked guns in people's houses. Wasn't Adam Lanza's story awful enough?
Fetuses don't shoot guns. This isn't an abortion argument. Actually, since crime has gone down as abortion as gone up, maybe we should be more worried about unlocked guns in people's houses. Wasn't Adam Lanza's story awful enough?
maybe we should be more worried about mental health services in this country??
~PedsRN~, BSN, RN
826 Posts
I am surprised that this thread is still going!
You have the right to own a gun 100%. You also have the right to refuse to answer the question if asked by a healthcare provider.
Asking for this information does not infringe on your constitutional right to own a firearm. Which as a libertarian, I fully support. What this question does is simply give your healthcare provider information to help fill in some educational gaps that you may be missing.
While you have no issues with gun safety in your home, you are not most people. Am I the only one taking care of people in the hospital that literally have no common sense? Is this just a trend in my hospital? Like the kid I took care of with a bullet wound to the chest, because her grandaddy was teaching her how to shoot TURTLES and was shocked when the bullet bounced off?
These are the people this question is for. Not for the educated people out there that own guns and take care of them.
The question is for clueless grandaddy, who doesn't know that you should lock your guns up and away from kids.
That's all.
Here's how I ask the question.
"Anyone smoke in the home? Any alcohol, drug, or domestic abuse in the home? Are there guns in the home? Are there smoke detectors in the home? Do you have a pool?"
I could go on.
We document this information and then educate if we see the need.
Simple as that.
We are not after your guns, nor do I have a personal/political vendetta that I am out to fulfill.
I just want to keep my patients safe, and we all know as nurses one of the best ways to keep kids (and adults) out of the hospital is to educate them on the best ways to STAY out of the hospital.