Court of Appeals Rules in Favor of Florida's Law-Abiding Gun Owners Over Activist Doctors

The United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit has ruled that doctors do not have the right to ask patients if they own a firearm when unnecessary to a patient's care. This ruling is a significant defeat for the gun control lobby and its allies. The Florida chapters of the American Academies of Pediatrics and American College of Physicians, along with a number of other groups and individuals backed by the anti-gun community, filed this lawsuit against the State of Florida after Governor Rick Scott signed a bill backed by the National Rifle Association in 2011.

In the ruling, the three judge panel ruled: "In keeping with these traditional codes of conduct-which almost universally mandate respect for patient privacy-the Act simply acknowledges that the practice of good medicine does not require interrogation about irrelevant, private matters. As such, we find that the Act is a legitimate regulation of professional conduct. The Act simply codifies that good medical care does not require inquiry or record-keeping regarding firearms when unnecessary to a patient's care."

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