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(courtesy kaiserhealthnews.org)

“I’m sure you’ve heard this a ton of times but I wanted to give you a heads up for what its worth,” TTAG reader RT writes. “I was just recently at my doctor’s complaining about frequent migraines. He asked me typical health questions and then asked me two interesting ones. #1 Do you feel depressed and then #2 Do you have any guns in the house? Obamacare in action. This is how they will get legal gun owners on a list to fail typical background checks. Ridiculous.” I’m no fan of Florida’s attempt to prevent doctors from asking about guns (First Amendment and all that) but there’s asking and there’s asking. Has your doctor inquired about your firearms? If so, how did that go?

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159 COMMENTS

    • That’s a fundamental tenet of Islam (I can’t recall the Islamic term for it), so even though I sympathize with your premise I personally wouldn’t practice that. If my doctor asked (which he won’t since he’s been my doc for >30 years) I would simply tell him that his question is irrelevant to the maintenance of my health, and ignore it.

      • You mean Taqiyya. That only covers lying about your faith if you risk being persecuted (like a jew saying he is catholic during WW2).

        There is some differences between Shia and Sunni Taqiyya. Shia muslims also believe that you can eat during the fast or eat pork to hide your religion. Sunni muslims don’t believe that.

        • I feel I should also mention that, just like the Muslim examples you gave, there’s complexity to Judaism’s stance as well. Judaism considers it acceptable to be a crypto-Jew if absolutely necessary, but there are limits to what is permissible. Specifically, murder, sexual immorality, and idolatry are never acceptable, even at the cost of one’s life.

        • Did you read what I wrote? It is not about advancing the religion, it is simply to stay alive/safe if persecuted.

          We muslims sadly do not have a gigantic plot to take over the world/take over your brains.

        • I have read the Koran; the stated purpose of Islam is to put the entire world under Islamic law. Lying to an infidel is perfectly acceptable; muslims are not allowed to be friends with an infidel; but if a Muslim is in a weak position in a society; they are allowed to act like they are friends to an infidel, until they become dominant; then they will either convert you; make you a dhimmi;(pay a tax to not be converted and that you are a second class subject not protected by Islamic law.) or kill you. By Islamic law.

        • Hey Lolinski; I don’t have the English translation that I’ve read with me. But there are on-line Korans. This is what I’ve got so far on http://www.qurango.com

          3.28] Let not the believers take the unbelievers for friends rather than believers; and whoever does this, he shall have nothing of (the guardianship of) Allah, but you should guard yourselves against them, guarding carefully; and Allah makes you cautious of (retribution from) Himself; and to Allah is the eventual coming.

          [5.51] O you who believe! do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends; they are friends of each other; and whoever amongst you takes them for a friend, then surely he is one of them; surely Allah does not guide the unjust people

          9.5] So when the sacred months have passed away, then slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them captives and besiege them and lie in wait for them in every ambush, then if they repent and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, leave their way free to them; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful

          [9.29] Fight those who do not believe in Allah, nor in the latter day, nor do they prohibit what Allah and His Apostle have prohibited, nor follow the religion of truth, out of those who have been given the Book, until they pay the tax in acknowledgment of superiority and they are in a state of subjection

          A little extra that I thought was particularly apt. This is from the Hadith, as you know; a supplement to the Koran. There is three ways for when it is allowed for a Muslim to kill another Muslim, the third way is when a Muslim converts to another religion.

          Abd-Allah ibn Masood said : The Messenger of Allah said : “It is not permissible to shed the blood of a Muslim who bears witness that there is no god except Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah, except in one of three cases : a soul (in case of murder) ; a married person who commits adultery ; and one who leaves his religion and separates from the main body of Muslims.” Sahih Al Bukhary number 6484 and Sahih Muslim number 1676

          People really should read the entire book, as well as look at the Hadith.

          In the end, actions speak louder than words. Just look at the actions of Mohammad; (that all good Muslims are supposed to emulate); He initiated the spread of Islam at the point of a sword. This is history. Look it up. The details are quite gruesome.

        • By posting those quran verses, Thomas R is doing exactly what the jihadist recruiters do, quote lines from the quran out of context and then say, ‘See muslims have a duty to kill Jews!’

          Thomas R, you are being as intellectually bankrupt as a Taliban savage. Congratulations.

          Hey guys, remember when Jesus said he brought a sword and that no person could get into heaven except by turning their backs on their parents?

          Oh wait, you mean the meaning of a thing is dependent on WHEN and WHY it was said? Well, blow me down.

          Look people, I’m an atheist who rejected islam and according to the last line ThomasR posted, they should be a million mulsims out to kill me, yet I’m still in this community, walking around, visiting mosques, eating their food, arguing with them over the existence of God, Imagine it! I have hundreds of muslims in my life and none of them have organised a lynching yet, despite my open atheism and denunciation of their faith. Granted, I live in a relatively laid back society out here inthe caribbean, but the fact is 99% of muslims are the laid back variety who get no press, don’t take those verses at face value, and the only thing they want to kill is a cow on Eid.

        • Yeah Jumbie; If a person doesn’t read the Koran; you can be as “intellectually bankrupt as a Taliban savage” and no one would know the difference.

          The neat thing about the internet; people can easily see who is being “intellectually bankrupt”. The truth will out. For those that care; they will make the effort; for those that are locked into a Politically Correct box of see no evil in any religion. people or belief (no evil, unless your an American or a Christian); then they will continue live in the delusional world you exist in.

        • Context matters. Just ask the framers of the second amendment if it only means just what the words say, or if it means more due to the time and place in which it was written down…

          Yes, ThomasR, I hope people DO go research, but I hope they research deeper than you and look at the footnotes to those translations. Then they’ll see that Muhammad the con-man invented verses out of thin air whenever he needed something to push the political agenda of the month. When he was having a hard time with the jews in a city for instance, he created verses hostile to jews. When he had jewish allies, he created verses that praised the jews too.

          The point is that the verses don’t have any deep meaning of overarching mission. He never planned that far ahead and he’d have avoided setting himself into such an inflexible world view. After all, friends became enemies and enemies became friends all the time in the sands of Arabia and he couldn’t afford to have anyone declared a permanent enemy.

          I am an atheist who finds most of Islam abhorrent, BUT, this takkiyah myth about Islam I find distasteful because people use it to discredit an entire people. “That nice muslim man you met down at the grocery store helping with the clothing drive? He’s really a blood-thirsty monster waiting for you to turn your back so he can slide a dagger in your back…” In other words, it seeks to discredit moderate/relaxed muslims to prevent their acceptance.

          SO yes, anyone reading the argument between THomasR and I, go and research for yourself, but don’t stop at just the surface. Remember the idiotic things the anti-gunners say about the 2nd amendment because they read just the words and don’t know the history. Then realize that ThomasR is doing the same thing with the Quran.

        • I had to laugh a little Jumbie at your last post; you are making my point for me. You, an ex-Muslim, find Islam “abhorrent”, and that “Mohammad was a con-man that invented verses out of thin air.”

          So does the command to kill any Muslim that converts to another religion also cover one that denounces Islam, says that Mohammad was a con man and claims there is no G-d? I wouldn’t go to the Mid-east, if I was you, to find out.

          In the mean time, only G-d knows what lies in the heart of a person. I’ve heard many people that are technically law abiding citizens; say that in major economic collapse; that they would go predator and kill other defenseless people to take their stuff to survive.

          If a situation like that happens; we all will find out what we really believe, and who our real friends are.

        • Muhammad being a con-man is quite separate from the assertoin that muslims are all liars at their core or that Islam is out to kill all non-muslims.

          You also seem to be forgetting that most muslims don’t live in the middle east and non-middle east muslims are all living quite separate from the turmoil of that region without much care about it.

          You like most people who take up this Taqqiyah myth to discredit all muslims seem to be confusing modern middle east radicalism with all muslims. You seem to forget that the modern ‘Wahhabi’ radical strain of Islam (which is a cancer that IS spreading and must be beaten back) is not the Islam that has existed for most of history and it is not the strain that covers most of the world today.

          That is why context remains important because most muslims remain leery of calls to violence in the Quran and have no intention of following them, just as almost no christian is about to go stone an adulterer, though the bible tells them to do so.

        • Why you are still lying and spewing taquiya BS (you’re just using a lame version of typical, leftist, fake moral equivalency):

          “That is why context remains important because most muslims remain leery of calls to violence in the Quran and have no intention of following them,”

          And yet poll after poll shows anywhere from 40 to 70 % of muslims (HIGHER IN WESTERN COUNTRIES) APPROVE of suicide bombings.

          https://startpage.com/do/search?q=muslims+approve+of+suicide+bombings

          And NO MUSLIMS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD march to condemn violent jihad committed with “blessings” of the koran, and except for a handful (who most likely do it in the face of an arrest for a different crime), VIRTUALLY NO MUSLIMS TURN IN TERRORISTS IN THE WEST.

          So all your crying and sobbing about how most muslims are not into terrorism and actually oppose it is NOTHING BUT LIES AND BULLSH*T.

          “just as almost no christian is about to go stone an adulterer, though the bible tells them to do so.”

          Christians (nor Jews) haven’t stoned adulterers for centuries / millennia, while YOUR PEOPLE DO IT AND WORSE, EVERY WEEK SOMEWHERE IN THE MUSLIM WORLD.

          http://www.thereligionofpeace.com

      • Not Islam … The Catholic Church.
        “A lie consists in speaking a falsehood with the intention of deceiving” (a citation from Augustine), and “To lie is to speak or act against the truth in order to lead someone into error” (CCC 2482, 2483).

        If the purpose of the question is to do injustice, then to tell truth would facilitate that moral error. Nazis asking if there are Jews hidden in your house, is the modern example. The moral person faced with this situation may be ambiguous, misdirect with mental reservations about the meaning and context, or, in the last resort , lie outright, to keep the person asking from aiding or acting toward an immoral end.

      • You can ethically and truthfully answer “No” if instead you have “personal defense devices” at home. If it’s good enough for a DHS Solicitation, it’s good enough for us.

      • …I live in the mountains of Northern California..and our rural med-center was raided a couple of weeks ago…supposedly because one doctor was over -prescribing pain killers to elderly folks who have a hard time getting up in the morning….it is my understanding that when you visit the clinic now..they begin by asking you those type questions…..and when that happens to me…this will be my response….:

        “…do you have any sexually transmittable diseases?”…

        ” how large is your penis?”…

        “does your vagina smell?”…

        “how large is your husband’s penis”?…

        “would you have sex with Jesus if he resurrected himself?

        “how much over weight are you…and does it effect your sex life?”….

        I would answer every question with the most intimate, embarrassing questions I could think up at the time..until they got the message that I was not going to answer any unrelated questions…

        RJ O’Guillory
        Author-
        Webster Groves – The Life of an Insane Family

      • Rahab the biblical prostitute is mentioned in Hebrews 11 as one of those in the Faith Hall of Fame among the likes of Noah, Abraham, and Moses. She was also in the lineage of Christ, yet when the king’s soldiers asked her concerning the whereabouts of the Jewish spies she was hiding, she lied and sent them off in the opposite direction. Not to condone all lying as it made the top 10, but apparently God did not hold that against her based on that situation.

      • As an atheist who grew up muslim and then rejected Islam because I found it stupid and vile (and boring!), I can tell you…you’re full of $#!t.

        Taqqiyah is not *fundamental* At best it is incidental. It’s a no more than a basic rule all societies have for lying under duress.

        As in, if a man comes to your house smelling of whiskey while carrying a shotgun and asks you for your name, do you tell him the truth?
        Hell no.

        I have no doubt that many radicals have twisted the interpretation of thatverse to mean ‘go do undercover’ jihad, but jihadist are a minority within islam.

        Even if there’s 10 million extremists (and that’s being generous) that still leaves 99% of the muslim world who don’t give think the way you’re accusing them of thinking.

        And I state again: There are lots of reasons to attack Islam for it’s rules that debase humanity, but if not Col Angus’s fantasies about secret muslim legions looking to take over the world.

    • LISTEN UP! Educate your family members as well. Make sure they know to “Just Say No” and move on with the medical issues at hand.

      I had previously discussed this with my wife who recently turned 65. During her first medical appointment after going on Medicare, she was subjected to a government required interview during which one of the questions was, “Do you feel threatened or frightened at home?” (In other words, “Is your husband an abusive a$$hole?”) She told me she was tempted to reply, “Heavens no! We have at least one loaded gun on every floor so I’m not afraid of anything!” But, she realized that reply would have answered the question, “Are there guns in your home?” Since that could have led to more questions, rather than being witty, she simply said, “No.”

      Talk to your spouse. Good luck getting this across to your kids.

  1. Just had a back doctor appointment and they had a huge slew of new questions concerning feeling down, depressed, etc. I was waiting for the guns question but it never came up.

    • Same here, and just go to the damn Instacare!
      Last time I went in for some stitches, I was helped by the same nurse who usually helps me. First question was “How’s it going?” and the second was “Pick up anything new?”
      She shoots competitively in her free time. Swear to God, if I were single, and better looking….

  2. No, but I have no problem if he does. If you don’t trust your doctor with that information, you need to find a new doctor.

    The doctor/patient relationship is the most intimate non-familial, non-sexual, non-romantic relationship I can imagine, though that may be different for you if you are in the armed services or police dept.

    • Be aware that if your physician uses an electronic medical record (and there are big financial incentives from the feds for them to use them) you can’t be 100% sure of where the data goes in this era of shifting sands and federal rules.

      My recommendation as a health care provider is to say no and move on.

      Answers like “None of your business” or “That’s irrelevant” equal “Yes”.

      • +1 on the Electronic Health Records. All hospitals systems will be going to or on them eventually so you’re answer on that questions will be the feds knowledge. The feds will be using this data, mainly for data analysis on medical treatments, but as the IRS & NSA scandals have shown, the data will be easily misused to further a political agenda. Now that the Democrats are win at all costs, with no going back to the way it used to be, I plan to lie my ass off and not feel the least bit bad about it. I can face my current life and after life with a clear conscience knowing how statists and totalitarians will take advantage or abuse anything available to them in achieving their goals of control.

      • There is no positive financial incentive to go to electronic medical records–instead there is a huge monetary penalty if you refuse to do so. If you don’t go electronic, kiss all government funded health insurance patients good bye, as well as most if not all of the major insurer’s patients. And the systems do not come cheap. The doctors I have spoken to a swearing a blue streak about the cost to computerize their offices (one said it was going to cost him $100,000), and the fact that what was once an easy handwritten entry is now a laborious menu driven process that takes a massive amount of time. I had an outpatient procedure a few weeks ago–the hospital required me to show up two hours early, which became comprehensible only when it took the nurse 25 minutes to enter two minutes worth of data. The idea has a positive purpose–to prevent common medical mistakes that occur when one physician/treater does not know what another is doing. The downside is that now everyone’s medical records are part of a commonly accessible electronic database that contains all your pertinent information (name, DOB, address, ph #, D/L #, SS#, photograph, name and address of employer, and then all of your medical info). CRack that database, and a wealth of info exploitable for identity theft is available. To say nothing of government snoops.

  3. Yes, my doctor asked me this question the last time I saw her. Went pretty much the same as the author stated. First question: “Do you feel depressed or anxious?” “Nope, actually I feel pretty damn good aside from the knee.” “Do you have any guns in the house?” “Sorry Doc, That’s need-to-know, and you don’t.”

  4. I have not personally, but know several people who’s pediatrician have asked the parents and the kids during visits. I would ask the doctor what is the the purpose of the question and if he/she is being directed to ask this question. If the doctor was not straightforward,I would change doctors.

  5. I’ve got my physical scheduled. My doc is pretty left leaning. The only reason I keep her, is she knows her stuff.
    I’m going to let her know, (if she asked the questions), that I will find another doc who doesn’t ask irrelevant questions.

  6. I went to find a new family practitioner last year. The first one had a spot on the forms “Are there Guns in the home?”

    I haven’t been back.

  7. Gee I have migraine headaches too. I have NO problem telling some a###!!e doctor a lie. Akin to backdoor gun registration. I really don’t CARE what Muslims think.

  8. Yes, but only as friends. I taught him to shoot. He’s the doctor for our city’s SWAT team. He never makes “official” inquiries of his patients.

  9. The question is on the forms at my Drs office and I routinely check no. Then I routinely display my concealed carry piece when I remove my cover up to be examined. He’s never mentioned it. So what does the EHR say? It says no, because the Dr and I didn’t discuss it so he’s not entering it and the info from the form that the office girls put in later says no.

    Then again, I was on the EHR implementation committee for the same medical centers that are home base for my GP.

  10. Yep, all the time. Usually followed by gripes about the price
    of ammo and when’s the next time we can get together at the
    range. As far as the ACA goes, I think a 20yr Navy Chief
    would blush at the descriptions my doc uses for Obamacare.

  11. Mine – VA Medical Center – keeps asking if I’m depressed or if I have PTSD. Every time I go in, questions get asked again. So far no firearms questions.

    • Same here, but they don’t even ask about depression. DC VAMC – “The Flagship” they call themselves.

  12. I had a FB chat with a pediatrician friend (and proud, unabashed liberal) about this issue.
    I am including the core part of the exchange (with names redacted for privacy) to give people an insight into the way the medical community tends to think (and, yes, that is a good deal of indoctrination peeking through the cracks in the logic):
    —-

    •ME:
    So what is the origin and purpose of asking patients “Do you spend time in a home where a gun is kept?”, “Do you spend time with anyone who carries a gun, knife, or other weapon?”, and what is the proscribed thing to do if they are answered in the affirmative?

    •Dr FRIEND:
    the origin is that more youth die from gun violence than heart disease so if you really want to save lives, you’ve got to address this issue.

    •ME:
    how does an affirmative answer have anything to do with “gun violence”? A very tiny fraction of the 300 million legally owned firearms is involved in gang violence or unlawful shootings by legal owners.
    And those likely to use their guns criminally probably did not get them legally and will not admit they have them

    •Dr FRIEND:
    so we shouldn’t ask? just turn a blind eye?

    •ME:
    I would not answer. But what I am looking for is what the proscribed course of action is after an affirmative answer.
    And what exactly do you think you might be turning a blind eye to?

    •Dr FRIEND:
    to then educate the family regarding locking up firearms, keeping ammo separate, not on the fridge loaded ready to be taken to middle school to shoot a teacher and 2 classmates [reference to Reno shooting]

    •ME:
    You know that the root problem there was not where the gun and ammo were kept….

    •Dr FRIEND:
    it may not be the root but it definitely contributed to the problem.

    •ME:
    No it did not, it was a conveniently available means, but it didn’t “contribute”.
    It had no proactive role

    •Dr FRIEND:
    how can you say that a having a conveniently available means didn’t contribute and wasn’t proactive?

    •ME:
    Because a car in the garage does not contribute to a kid going for a joy ride

    ===========

    This friend is a smart guy, but his logic from start to finish is flawed.
    If we followed the reasoning, we’d ban windows because people jump (or are sometimes pushed) out of them….

    This indoctrination and failure to check the logic links “gun violence” (ie shots discharged in anger, malice, criminal intent) with the way lawful owners store their guns.
    Getting people to conflate bits of misinformation with deceptive statistics IS part of the civilian disarmament movements strategy.

    I saw a Dana Loesch video that gave some good numerical content: 28 annual deaths from accidental finding and handling. OK. 28 too many. But what bothers me is the way “gun violence” (ie mostly gang bangers and other criminal elements) gets conflated with how people like me treat their firearms. I see this as a very dangerous conflation and recognize it as part of the grabber’s strategy of “effective messaging”.

    Getting people in positions of authority (the good doctor) to swallow that pill (often by getting them to conflate unrelated statistics like “gun violence” and accidental deaths and injuries) is paramount to the goals of the disarmers.

    • Ask your doctor friend if he asks about whether they have a car in the home. Car crashes are the #1 source for accidental deaths of children.

    • “Do you spend time in a home where a gun is kept?”, “Do you spend time with anyone who carries a gun, knife, or other weapon?”

      Yep. I used to live with about 100 guys who all had semi/full-auto rifles, with bayonets, knives, pistols, and all sorts of weapons. What about it?

    • •Dr FRIEND:
      the origin is that more youth die from gun violence than heart disease so if you really want to save lives, you’ve got to address this issue.

      Correct response – Yes it is sad so many minorities engage is stupid practices, in stupid places, with other stupid people. How do you plan to fix the problem?

    • I had a similar encounter with a MD on a discussion list. When he said the reason was to educate people about firearms safety, I asked what his qualifications in firearms safety education were. Did he have an NRA instructor certification?

      Of course, I didn’t get any answer, and the discussion ended.

  13. I took an NRA protection outside the home course with my eye doctor, and we talk guns way more than eyes. And my general practitioner swears by his Kimber. But they haven’t asked me yet in an office visit.

  14. Someone I know was just (last week) at his physician’s office and was asked:

    1. Are you ever depressed?

    2. Do you own any guns?

    My acquaintance told the doctor (and I quote), “That’s none of your ****ing business.”

    The first question, as asked, is a loaded question. “Are you EVER depressed?” Gee… EVER? Naaaaaaaaaa…. Never.

    I’ve pondered how I would answer when / if this happens. Part of me wants to go the “none of your ****ing business” route. But, such a response could be interpreted as a tacit affirmative answer. On the other hand, I’ve also considered a silent stare. Or, I’ve also thought of returning the question to the doctor, “Do YOU ever feel depressed? Do YOU own guns?”

    I’ve also thought the most expeditious answer would be a curt, “NO.”

    • If it ever happens to you, I think you should start being snarky after the “depression question”.

      A response like: “Ever? Like have I ever had a loved one pass away unexpectedly and did I feel depressed about it for a period of time? You do have a MD right? Where did you get your medical training… the Cayman Islands?”

  15. No.
    Any inquires on a form would be replied to with N/A, DNA (which would probably result in confusion in a medical milieu), or NUNYA. If asked in an interview, I would enjoy the opportunity to evangelize my position on the question, while giving no direct answer to such an invasive, intrusive, violation of my privacy

  16. The future:

    “Are there any firearms in your home?”
    “How is that relevant to my health?”
    “Well, it’s relevant to your personal safety.”
    “Are you an expert on firearms safety?”
    “No, but this information is provided to people who are.”

    • Exactly. If the doctor is concerned about safety, then he / she should be QUALIFIED to provide guidance on “gun safety,” rather than just documenting the fact and possibly passing that information on to people-unknown.

    • “Your answer to that last question destroys any Doctor Patient Confidentiality expectation that may have existed to that moment. Thank you. Goodbye. And don’t bother sending a bill.”

      • When we get to that point I think patient/doctor confidentiality will be a quaint memory……As (some) people become more and more desensitized to any sense of privacy via social media, government intrusion, whatever, the expectation of trust and secrecy between doctors and patients will disappear.

    • “Well, it’s relevant to your personal safety.”

      It sure is, Doc. I’m a helluva lot safer armed than I am unarmed.

  17. Hmm.

    Step 1 – set up firearms trust.

    Step 2 – transfer all of your guns to gun trust

    Step 2a – buy silencers, machine guns, etc.

    Step 3 – answer “no” truthfully … and legally when it becomes illegal to lie on a doctor’s ACA-mandated questionnaire.

  18. My doc and her mother shoot. But if the question ever came up, I’d reply “why, you raising your rates?”

  19. My doctor has never brought it up with me. My kids’ doctor never mentioned it either and I’ve talked to that doctor plenty over the years. I searched my clinic’s website for “guns” and the only thing listed is a reminder to store guns safely (locked up and unloaded) if there are children in the house.

  20. My pediatrician asked that question during one of our son’s well baby exams. My wife and I both said “no” in unison. He gave us both a “yeah right” kind of look. (I suspect that is because our son’s medical record clearly shows that he was born in a military hospital.) He recited a list of safety guidelines (keep your guns locked up, keep the ammo separate, etc.)

    He did ask about swimming pools also and gave a us a pamphlet about pool saftey.

  21. As a med student, we’ve been taught to do this, but most of our professors indicated that it wasn’t really important and could be left out if we wanted to.

  22. As nurse practitioner, I have never asked anyone. Or been instructed to. If I worked in psychiatry it *might* be relevant.

    As a patient, I have never been asked.

    As a parent to a teenager, I have never been asked.

    And I live in a very liberal city.

  23. I like to practice range therapy. Doctors should learn about the benefits of this type of therapy.

    To the questions I won’t answer them in th affirmative. While the doctor may be trustworthy all of my medical records are digital. They could easily be vacuumed up by people who are not trustworthy to deny my my 2A rights with the stroke of a key.

  24. I had to, after i was going through a rough patch my doctor prescribed me some anti-anxiety meds, which I HAD to declare on my licence renewal. The RCMP refused to issue my renewal until I got a doctors note saying HE did not object to me owning firearms. I took those meds for less then a week, I hated how they made me feel.

    • The more I hear, the more I tend to think that the RCMP has established a police state in Canada–they’re just not telling you yet.

  25. Yes, my cardiologist collects (and shoots) vintage Holland & Hollands. He recently acquired a Purdy and asked if I’d like to join him at the range to compare it to one of his H&Hs and my Westley Richards. I said yes.

    • Horse manure. You said “HELL yes!”, and we all know it! I’m ready to say Hell, yes, and I don’t even know what state you’re in!

  26. If my doctor were to ask me about guns I will respond that such questions are illegal under ACA. That is he best approach to take. I note that my doctor, actually her assistant, asked such a question before the law went into effect but it is no longer in the menu. My answer was always none of your business with a smile. She already knows that my wife and I carry but has never recorded our firearms ownership officially. Now my dentist is different when he asks about guns he wants to know what I am packing at the movement and I always tell him.

  27. I’ve never had one physically ask me about guns, but the forms usually ask if there are guns in the home. I’ve noticed it only at primary care offices, not specialists or anything. I generally just leave the question blank on the form. Have never had anyone follow up on it and ask.

  28. If a doctor asks…reply witha question back….do you administer vaccines? The answer will of course be yes, and ask why he/she is overlooking the damage that the courts have confirmed that vaccines are doing to the public?

    • If you are referring to immunizations and autism that data has been debunked as made up by the author. Essentially, total crap.

      • …sorry to tellyou that you are misinformed…the most recent studies have found a direct link to the administration of the vaccines/ immunizations….to increases in autism and autism like developmental problems….they have found that immunizing the child in the first 3 months increase the likelyhood that they will not meet developmental goals…or be directly diagnosed as autistic, etc….the study found that the “vaccine” itself is not the primary problem..as much as the “themerosol” (?)..or mercury based preservative used in all vaccines…not to mention that autistic births are now something like 1 in every 68 births…a huge increase….so something is responsible…

        RJ O’Guillory
        Author-
        Webster Groves – The Life of an Insane Family

        • It’s notable that you didn’t actually cite these “recent studies”.
          If you’re going to make an argument from authority, it is kind of imperative that you actually demonstrate authority.

          Thiomersal stopped being used in infant vaccines in 2001. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2376879
          The only major study establishing a connection was admitted to be a fraud. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3136032/
          The rate of autism spectrum diagnoses has not decreased in the years after thiomersal was removed from infant vaccines. http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/65/1/19

          But thanks for playing.

        • ….well Luke…thank God that I don’t have to answer to douche-bags like yourself when it comes to defining “authority”….and if I choose to post a counter argument in order to spur other’s imagination and creativity…in order for them to learn about things for themselves…that is my business…not yours… additionally…you are dead wrong about the analysis of the vaccine schedule … and though I cannot find the most recent scientific study I had just read the other day…in which they charted out the number of kids vaccinated…the number of autistic…the number of dead….and they found the statistical relationship…you also have no idea about the thimerosol…as these companies didn’t simply destroy their remaining inventories…they shipped them overseas…and many of the vaccines still use “trace amounts” of the preservative…in their product…though they claim in PR Campaigns that they have stopped…and BTW…if it wasn’t the preservative and mercury in the vaccines causing some of the jump in the level of autism and neurological disorders…why did they pull “most” of the preservative out of the vaccines?

          You have no idea how corrupt the whole process is…and you embarrass yourself when you make uninformed comments….but if you’d like to read one source…try this one…

          Autism And Vaccines Study – About.com‎

          RJ O’Guillory
          Author-
          Webster Groves – The Life of an Insane Family

        • No, not misinformed. The large study that “experts” quote was faked. In medical training you are taught to tear apart studies to see if they have any value.

          Quoting the latest “data” does not make it a valid study. Until these studies are vetted, your assertion is still unfounded.

  29. I’ve not been asked but if I were quick on my feet my response might sound something like:

    “Given our current political environment, answering yes to either of those questions could lead to a loss of civil rights. So I require that you either leave that blank or ‘NR’ for ‘no response’. If you have a problem with that I need to switch doctors.”

  30. My doctor does not ask silly questions. He is too busy helping people. My doctor already knows I carry and my family and I own numerous weapons for hunting and defense, as do all his patients. He will not even ask that of 96 year old female patients he has because they are also armed, one with a shotgun and numerous handguns.

  31. Wasn’t asked, but it was a question on those forms you fill out as a new patient. I marked it no and kept going. Unless or until I see my Doctor on the range there is absolutely no need for him to know I own.

  32. Never been asked by my doc, but if I were I would answer “No”.

    As has been already stated, anything other than “no” sounds like yes and if your doc is asking they probably don’t care that the question may offend you.

    In this case outright lies are the most constructive way for TPOTG to resist this attempt at “registration”. In this case it is not guns that are being registered, but people.

  33. No…And I made sure my kids doctors knew better than to ask them (15 YEARS AGO).

    Remember that the National Pediatrician groups are ACTIVELY Anti Gun.

  34. Not exactly. My kid’s pediatrician on our first visit, rather than ask about guns in the house simply said that as a matter of safety, if I do have guns in the house, to try to keep them locked up and out of children’s reach.

    • It interests me that this is the “normal” concept of firearms safety. My actions were the opposite, my sons knew from infancy that every gun in the house was not only real, but fully loaded, and while placed out of the reach of small hands were definitely NOT locked in any way! As in, no playthings here. Had no problems except that neither seems as fascinated with guns as I always was (a strict “no nasty guns” upbringing, how quick can I get one of my own?). They like ’em OK, shoot with me occasionally, but no “forbidden fruit” overhang. And youngest is 34 now, in case you were wondering. And, obviously, I had far fewer guns then, eventually had to store some, so unloaded them. Left ammo nearby.

  35. No, my physician won’t ask. He is more conservative than I am. We talk about how ruinous ObamaCare is and will be for the country.

    He won’t do anything to help the intrusiveness of the HHS … HIPAA regulations, he says with a smirk.

  36. Robert you just lost all your rights if you said yes, and for the pills they may come with the WHITE JACKETS , This is now Amerika , WATCH all your answers, and IF you are a VET. you are S.O.L. if you need help! and the Florida law does not work either , if I said anything , they would put me away….to even say you have no right to ask that ,,YOU get RED FLAGED even in Florida … no more doc,s for me , no help now……………..it’s that SAD.. We lost our liberty…………

    • Well I’m not. Not all people that take them are doing so for depression for instance. I take one for anxiety for instance. Has nothing to do with my gun at all.

      • There is an increasing body of evidence that SSRIs are having unlikeable consequences that should be medically monitored.

        If, say, treatment for diabetes had a strong correlation to violent episodes, is it unreasonable to consider that, and gun ownership?

        I am not advocating for gun confiscation, nor setting up the construct where that would come to pass. But it is worth knowing about and discussing.

        • Do you understand the concept of “prior restraint”, and its prohibition in any free state? My government should never have the power to restrict me because of what I MIGHT do.

  37. Was it auto crash 2 weeks ago, in Florida, got rear ended , at stop light, the guy hit and run, so I had to lie to the cops 3 times, and had to get pills for bad whip lash could not turn my neck, had to lie to medical staff 3 times, and 4 times on forms…this is not my idea of freedom………

  38. “I’m no fan of Florida’s attempt to prevent doctors from asking about guns (First Amendment and all that)”

    No. Doctors don’t get a First Amendment at work any more than I do. If I showed up wearing a political shirt instead of dress code, I’d be sent home. If I told my boss to take a long walk off a short pier, I’d get worse than that.

    Only a government entity can be held accountable for limiting your First Amendment rights. Not a private or even public business.

    Don’t like it? Well I hate not having a Second Amendment at work, so tough s***.

  39. Doc: “Any guns in the house?”
    Me: “You get enough sleep last night? Eating right? Stressed out? Marriage going good?”
    Doc: “Why do you ask?”
    Me: “Because doctors kill over ten times more people than guns every year due to medical mistakes. I’m safer at home with my guns than in your office”.

    http://www.prweb.com/releases/medical-errors-epidemic/2012-conference/prweb9378564.htm
    “788,558—that’s the number of deaths in the United States caused by medical errors and hospital acquired infections (HAIs) in 2009¹. That’s 33% of all deaths in America that year.”

    http://blogs.wsj.com/ideas-market/2012/09/25/cause-of-death-medical-error-and-overtreatment/
    “The latest Institute of Medicine report cites a leading study that quantifies the problem at nearly double the prior estimate (180,00 deaths) among Medicare beneficiaries alone, which would rank preventable harm as the number 3 cause of death in the U.S. after cardiovascular disease and cancer.”

  40. My doctor knows I don’t own any guns , because when I go out shooting with him I tell him that I feel good that my wife lets me rent the guns I am shooting , then he says I feel the same way ! Be prepared and ready . Keep your powder dry .

  41. My GP no. My shrink however, I am teaching him how to shoot, and will be going with him to buy his first AR, and a 9MM pistol. 🙂

  42. My doctor himself did not ask but my multi-page questionnaire for my recent routine physical asked if we had guns in our home.

  43. None of my doctors have ever asked that. Even if they did, I would have told them that 1.) it’s none of their business (because it’s not regardless of what any law says) and 2.) it’s absolutely not pertinent to this or any future visits, for that matter.

    After which I would have promptly begun searching for another doctor.

  44. My primary doesn’t ask those questions. If ever a stand-in or perhaps a specialist I might need to see ever asked such questions, I’d actually tell him the truth: that I feel entirely comfortable and well-adjusted, but I believe those types of questions are more political than medical in nature and are thus inappropriate.

    Say it with a smile, though, and never return to such a doctor. Last thing you want is a mark in your “permanent record” mischaracterizing your dismay at the questions themselves as your being “hyper defensive” or “disturbingly withdrawn” in response to so-called routine inquiries. Just get through such an encounter as casually and quickly as possible and put as much distance between you and that doctor as you can.

  45. Yes and I caved and lied about it and said no each time. This happened with Primary care, psychologist and psychiatrist. The psychiatrist prescribed a stimulant for ADHD.

    I remember feeling outraged that the question was asked. Next time I will say I have knives and automobiles.

  46. Had a recent doctors appointment. Prior to seeing him, his nurse told me that they needed to update their files. One of the questions was do I have guns and if so how many. I told her 4, nail, caulk, screw, and staple.

  47. My response was “none of your d*mned business”. I got a bit het up when he defensively said “Well, I have to ask.”
    It continues to be one of his favorite stories. And the question has gone missing.

    I did roughly the same when the podiatrist’s nurse asked if I smoke. I bluntly stated that the question wasn’t relevant, and that I refused to answer. She didn’t take it nearly as well. I was challenging her au-thor-i-tay. I’m contrary enough that I went from offended to entertained. She got rather pissed off. The doc agreed that it was a stupid question to ask, but that it was mandated by insurance. I pointed out that they can mandate him to ask, but they can’t compel me to answer. He acknowledged the point.

  48. When pollsters call and ask about having guns we say no. When caucus people ask we say no. And we say no to doctors too. Non of their bee’s wax. True. It is prudent.
    But then let us not be surprised when grabbers claim that POTG die out soon as less and less people own arms and just a very small group of OFWG’s hoards more and more guns.

  49. Keep the ammo separate

    Yeah, because if a criminal breaks in, I want to have to go into the bedroom to get the gun and then make my way into the basement to get the ammunition for the gun, then will confront the intruder.”

  50. Last time I was at the doctor (for my newborn son, which was nine months ago), the nurse asked about guns. She was awesome, though, and answered the question herself without any input from me. She just sort of breezed through a bunch of stuff almost like she was talking to herself – “Do you have any guns at home, no”. I nonchalantly asked about the questions and she said it was just stuff they were required to ask. I guess she’s not required to have ME be the one who answers.

  51. I notice some people go for the outright ‘no’ and some go for the ‘none of your business/leave it blank’ option.

    I think the ‘no’ is better.

    First of all I’m all in favor of them knowing that their gun ownership numbers are undercounted, that way the authorities always have to wonder, ‘just how much opposition is out there?’ As Sun Tzu, said, never let them know your true strength.

    Second, I think most people would take that ‘I decline to answer’ answer as a ‘yes’ anyway.

    LIE YOUR ASS OFF.

    • Also, I know there’s probably a lot a of appeal to the idea of telling your doctor off for the rudeness of asking such a question, but I think that’s just an invitation for them to put you on some ‘radicals’ watchlist somewhere.

      I really think a polite, ‘no. I don’t own guns’ is the best way to go. In a perfect world they’d look at their medical records and see that NO ONE in the world owns guns and realized that it’s pointless and then stop asking.

  52. Jumbie, please tell me where in the Bible Jesus said the only way to get to heaven is by turning your back on your parents. Because I’m pretty sure what Jesus really said is “The only way to the Father is through Me.” Just sayin.

    Also my doctor knows I own guns but has never asked during an exam because he’s a bro.

    • Luke 14:26

      “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.”

      However, due to context, it’s really not controversial and here’s a link to a pro-christian interpretation of the idea in CONTEXT:

      http://www.gotquestions.org/hate-father-mother.html

      Similarly, when anyone quotes quranic verses, be aware of the context in history and what Muhammed was trying to accomplish with the verse.

    • Note also:

      Matthew 10:34, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.”

      Was Jesus an anti-Roman jihadist? Of course not. As Wikipedia tells us, ‘More meaning is gleaned from greater context.’ (Though like most religious texts, that meaning is hard to nail down and the wiki article covers a LOT of ground on possible explanations)

      • “”The point is that the verses don’t have any deep meaning of overarching mission. ”

        Really, tell that to the ONE HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE SLAUGHTERED under the rules of the koran that DEMAND all non-muslims convert, submit / pay taxes, or die.

        For a self-professed atheist who “finds islam abhorrent” you sure go to a lot of trouble to lie and defend the murder cult masquerading as a religion.

        You can spit out Bible verses that you have no belief in but you ignore the fact that Christianity centuries ago and Judaism over a millennia past stopped implementing any biblical commandments advocating violence; where as islam TO THIS DAY justifies their worldwide conquest based on their texts.

        “what Muhammed was trying to accomplish with the verse.”

        He was trying to CONQUER ALL NON-MUSLIM LAND.

        And all islamic scholars will advise you that the later violent hadiths supplant the earlier less violent ones.

        Search “Dar al hab vs Dar al islam”;

        it refers to where muslims control the land, there is “islam”, or “peace”. Where muslims are in the minority, the land is considered AT WAR.

        Finally, to put to rest the notion that “real muslims do not support terrorism” you only have to point to the millions of muslims who have marched in the streets around the world to condemn al queda and islamic attacks on non-muslims.

        Oh wait, that must have been tens of thousands of muslims marching. Hundreds? A DOZEN?

        You clearly know nothing about taquiya nor about islam.

        Please yourself educated at http://www.thereligionofpeace.com before you continue attempting to whitewash jihad.

        • Yes, I, the man who grew up muslim, know nothing about Islam.

          And you keep talking about ‘islam’s’ body count or ‘Islam’ justifies war as if Islam was a single thing throughout time or geographically.

          All those people killed by Christians during the Inquisition, are they part of the ‘Christian’ body count? Or is that the body count of *Spain* during the time the leaders used Christianity as cover? Was it murder brought about by the intrinsic imperitive of Christianity, or murder justified by an interpretation of Christianity?

          Same with whoever was killed in places under Islamic rule. The conquerors flying the muslim flag were no different from Mongols running across Asia. Or the case of the millions of Africans enslaved and given ‘Christian; names. Murder and cultural destruction are part of all conquest not something intrinsic to Islam. Islam is just the costume the conquerors of that time and place were wearing.

          And yes, I spend a lot of time defending this for an atheist, because I’m still a brown-skinned man living in a world were people look at me funny when they read my muslim-sounding name on an ID card and I get pulled aside for hours for questioning by the authorities when I want to travel.

          And you want to know where the muslims are that protest Jihad? Well, where are the Christian protesting the Tamils that were killed by the Buddhist government of Sri Lanka? Why aren’t Americans holding vigils for all the people being murdered in Congo right now?

          Americans are at home watcing Housewives and Duck Dynasty because Congo and Sri Lanka are on the other side of the world and don’t figure in their consciousness.

          All politics is local and for 99% of muslims, they’re thinking about their own lives and their own tv shows. Muslims are not going to get up off their lazy asses to protest about something happening on the other side of the world in NYC. Especially since it was done by a dozen crazy idiots that most muslims don’t view as real muslims. Are you asking Mormons to apologize for the child abuse in the Catholic church? I mean, they’re all christians right? Why are Mormons in Utah protesting about change in the catholic church?

          Your premise is ridiculous – the idea that all muslims are part of some single minded organism when the locality I live in can’t even decide what day is Eid sometimes because the three major umbrella groups interpet their stone-age astronomy rules differently. Yet you want us to think that the majority of muslims are somehow coordinating a massive deception on the world.

          Look, you wan to call Islam a violent religion spread by the sword, go ahead, it was. You want to say it demeans women, hell yeah, I’m with you.

          But the pre-emptive demonization of moderates and reformers as decepticons is wrongheaded and stupid and collectivist.

      • This is silly. Either the bible or the Koran says anything you want to read into it (witness the Crusades and 9/11), and both of them are silly beyond belief, starting with an all powerful, invisible space alien watching us every minute. Can we get real?

      • For Jumbie:

        a/ You whine about the crusades: THEY HAVE BEEN OVER FOR CENTURIES, but the worldwide jihad CONTINUES.

        b/ “But the pre-emptive demonization of moderates and reformers as decepticons is wrongheaded and stupid and collectivist.”

        THERE ARE NO SERIOUS ISLAMIC MODERATES AND REFORMERS.

        And if there are a few around the world, NO ONE FOLLOWS THEM.

        So stop with your taquiya BS.

        Convert out or STFU.

  53. Your doctor asking about your guns is not a First Amendment issue. The problem is not that your doctor is exercising free speech. The problem is that he is being forced to ask the question and the answer is going on a Federal database.

    If asked this question, I will just lie. I just wonder how long it will be before it becomes a crime to lie to your doctor.

  54. It’s lose-lose if one looks at the two simplest possibilities, with the assumption that the information can not possibly be 100% secure:
    “If I answer ‘NO’ – Then someone can find out that I am not armed and may rob my home.”
    “And, if I answer ‘YES’ – Then someone can find out that I have guns and may attempt to steal them.”

    Diagnosis: “Paranoid psychotic”.

  55. ” #1 Do you feel depressed and then #2 Do you have any guns in the house? ”

    Both questions should be met with blank stares or lies.

  56. The courts continue to rule that vaccines do cause neurological damage, regardless what the pharmaceuticals try to publish. There has been NO long term study to date for vaccine safety. That’s a fact.

  57. Haha, I don’t give my money to people who are anti-2A. My Family Practitioner carries and we gun-talk during appointments, ditto my chiropractor and optometrist. If I would need to see a specialist for some reason I’d say/write “N/A”.

  58. No, but then the fact that I saw a copy of American Rifleman in the magazine rack on the inside of the exam room door might be a good sign that he’s not going to ever be asking that question.

  59. How about answering by saying: “A Gun? In my home? As in, right now, this minute? … No. But there is one in your exam room.”

  60. I routinely ask patients about it in primary care visits, particularly with parents of young children. I generally don’t write anything down however.

    The fact is, the people who are reading this site are not the people who need to be asked. Most people here know the relevant safety rules and practices.

    But there are a lot of new gun owners out there (which is a good thing), and that means a lot of kids who get shot accidentally because their parents didn’t grow up around guns. You really, really don’t want to be the proud parent of a 6 year old who comes home and finds their kid dead on the floor after playing with a loaded 1911 that was in a kitchen cabinet that you didn’t think they could reach.

    I’m no fan of the New York Times, but here’s a rather gut wrenching article about kids who are killed because their parents didn’t know any better: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/29/us/children-and-guns-the-hidden-toll.html?_r=0

    I ask because I can educate.

  61. If on a questionnaire, cross out the question and write illegal question to ask under ACA law. If verbal state the same. Done, next question.

  62. I’ve had several doctors, GPs and specialists. The only one who asked about them was the eye doctor, and that’s because I asked if I needed anything more than the regular polycarbonate lenses for shooting safety.

  63. I don’t think I will be quoting the Bible to my Jewish Doc. He isn’t going to ask anyway and if he did the answer would be no. Just because I like and trust him doesn’t mean I am willing to trust everyone on staff who can see the electronic records they have been using for years now. Not to mention people outside his office that may eventually have access to that same data.

  64. Mine did and got a glomar response. But in all fairness he also asked if i wear a seat-belt, wear a bicycle or motorcycle helmet, look both ways when crossing the street, drink too much, wear a jimmy hat when sleeping with strange women, smoke tobacco or take legal or illegal drugs for recreational purposes.

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