FLORIDA LAW GUNS DOWN 

CHILDREN AND PEDIATRICIANS

This Florida law, shoved down the throats of Floridian parents and pediatricians by the NRA, has to be one of the most anti-child, potentially dangerous laws to ever threaten the health of Florida's children ever placed on the law books. Pediatricians and other child healthcare providers can be fined, have their licenses suspended and even IMPRISONED for ASKING about gun safety. 

Not only is it dangerous, but it is clearly a violation of First Amendment free speech rights and federal law. The Federal Government has adopted AS FEDERAL LAW, the American Academy of Pediatrics "Bright Futures" as the  standard of care for pediatricians giving anticipatory guidance at well child visits. Included in "Bright Futures" is a discussion of gun safety during well child exams as part of anticipatory guidance.  As pediatricians we give such guidance to parents on a wide range of topics including expectant development, puberty, behavior, and yes, SAFETY. At these well child exams, on of the safety issues we talk about is gun SAFETY.

Marion P. Hammer
NRA Past President

"We take our children to pediatricians for medical care, not moral judgment, not privacy intrusions," says NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer. "This bill is about helping families who are complaining about being questioned about gun ownership, and the growing anti-gun political agenda being carried out in examination rooms by doctors and staffs."

 Let me reiterate: we talk about gun SAFETY. We do JUDGE those who own weapons. If one chooses to own firearms, fine. As pediatric healthcare providers, it is our goal and responsibility to discuss safety issues with parents. Part of that responsibility is insuring that gun ownership is SAFE and RESPONSIBLE ... not non-existent. We remind parents of the safe storage of guns if they own them. We are not trying to tell people they should not own guns. We do not advocate the removal of guns from homes. We simply want parents to understand how to safely store their guns and ammunition should they choose to own them. We do not violate ANY Second Amendment right. We are not going into their homes and taking their guns. We are not advocating for laws prohibiting gun ownership. We are simply ASKING, TALKING about gun SAFETY.

This law is NOT about helping families or children. It is about the NRA's political agenda of allowing any weapon at any time, anywhere, without exception. It is about SILENCING anyone who THEY FEEL threatens that agenda. They have fought every type of gun legislation ever introduced.  They don't care about families. They don't care about children. They care about one thing: their agenda. Period.

I assure you that when a child comes into emergency rooms with gunshot wounds, dead or seriously injured, this MOST CERTAINLY becomes a child MEDICAL CARE issue. One to two unintentional firearm deaths EVERY WEEK in this country and the NRA has the audacity to ignore this as a medical issue?? 

Loaded guns are unsafely stored in millions of homes within children's reach. Devastating laws such as this Florida abomination insures that child deaths will be on the rise.

Shame on the NRA and their political agenda. Shame on Florida Governor Rick Scott for signing into law such abysmal, anti-child legislation!!