Why Ask About Guns in the Home?

[Cow Poke]

I had said....

I think the fear is that he (and liberals in general) is pushing for a national database of guns and gun owners. When my wife went to the doctor the other day, she had to fill out a bunch of new forms because it was "a new year". One of the questions on the Medicaid Form (accidentally given to her - she's not on Medicaid) asked her if there were guns in our home.

And, eventually, Lpix asked....

And there's been questions about if it is even legal to collect such information. It is not illegal to own a gun, so what reason could exist to collect such data to begin with?

I started to answer, but I'd like to hear from others first.

[seer]

I was asked this by my Doctor, this was after the affordable care act was passed. It was with a number of other questions including about alcohol and drug use. I was told that I did not have to answer, which I didn't, but that my refusal to answer goes into a data base. He said he was now required to ask such questions and report the findings. This BTW had nothing to do with Medicaid.

[Cow Poke]

I was asked this by my Doctor, this was after the affordable care act was passed. It was with a number of other questions including about alcohol and drug use. I was told that I did not have to answer, which I didn't, but that my refusal to answer goes into a data base. He said he was now required to ask such questions and report the findings. This BTW had nothing to do with Medicaid.

What's odd is that, supposedly, a doctor can lose his license if he shares the results of his questions regarding guns, according to the Snopes article on this.

[seanD]

Covert federal gun registration? I'll say it

[Adam]

?? Gun sales are registered. Police always quickly tell us whether guns used in crimes are registered or not.

[myth]

?? Gun sales are registered. Police always quickly tell us whether guns used in crimes are registered or not.

I suppose that depends on what you mean by "registered" and where you live. For instance, in my state, while gun sales from licensed dealers to individuals are documented (same as anywhere nationally) and traceable by the feds, there is no gun ownership registry. Given a gun's make, model, and serial number, local law enforcement can only ascertain whether a gun has been reported stolen or not. You can, under certain circumstances, figure out who last bought the gun from a licensed dealer, but there's no database that keeps track of who owns what guns (in my state, at least).

[jordanriver]

maybe they want to know if people are that rich that they can afford a gun, why cant they pay their doctor bill.

[Cow Poke]

I suppose that depends on what you mean by "registered" and where you live. For instance, in my state, while gun sales from licensed dealers to individuals are documented (same as anywhere nationally) and traceable by the feds, there is no gun ownership registry. Given a gun's make, model, and serial number, local law enforcement can only ascertain whether a gun has been reported stolen or not. You can, under certain circumstances, figure out who last bought the gun from a licensed dealer, but there's no database that keeps track of who owns what guns (in my state, at least).

Same here - the gun dealer maintains a log book to record sales (gun's make, model, and serial number) and the Feds can come in at any time and look at or (in cases of illegal activity on the part of the gun dealer) seize the log book. I have asked a number of gun dealers, and they say they have never EVER had a Fed come in and ask to look at their log book.

We do, of course, have Concealed Carry licenses (we are a "shall issue" state) and, more recently, open carry, but it is the person who is "registered", not the weapons. As a matter of fact, I know a number of people who legally carry (castle doctrine / bona fide traveler) but will not do the licensing, because they feel that's just the beginning of a gun registry situation.

[rogue06]

I was asked this by my Doctor, this was after the affordable care act was passed. It was with a number of other questions including about alcohol and drug use. I was told that I did not have to answer, which I didn't, but that my refusal to answer goes into a data base. He said he was now required to ask such questions and report the findings. This BTW had nothing to do with Medicaid.

The government is pushing us toward breaking one of the Rules of Life; namely "never lie to your doctor or lawyer."

[seanD]

?? Gun sales are registered. Police always quickly tell us whether guns used in crimes are registered or not.

This is under the assumption that every gun is purchased legally and every gun is registered. Patients with unregistered firearms might feel a bit more obligated to be compliant if it's a doctor asking, thus it's a way to catch them off guard.

[Cow Poke]

maybe they want to know if people are that rich that they can afford a gun, why cant they pay their doctor bill.

Then they should ask if they have iPhones, cable TV and internet.

[rogue06]

Then they should ask if they have iPhones, cable TV and internet.

Or look to see if they're wearing $200 and up shoes. Or what sort of car they're driving.

[seer]

What's odd is that, supposedly, a doctor can lose his license if he shares the results of his questions regarding guns, according to the Snopes article on this.

This was in the beginning of the ACA, and a requirement of the act. Perhaps the instructions were not clear, or they did not use my name, just the info for a kind of mega data collection thing.

[Catholicity]

Can I answer this since I've been on the Nursing side of things? This question has actually been around for some time. Its on the safety assesment form. No professional Nurse or Physician can share it, but it IS part of determining how safe your home is. (in addition a professional looks for things like clutter, loose cords, your stair case, railings, obvious cracks, whether you have a power strip for multiple items that are plugged in etc. and if you have young children do you have a safety gate. We were also taught to examine if you have food and drink, and explain how to go about obtaining said items) If you were "flagged" for a non safe item a reccomendation was to be made such as a gun safe, shelves for proper storage, where to find good power strips, calling a land lord about a railing, who to contact for food if you need help etc. The information never went out of the office, hospital or in our case clinical report (as we were doing this in clinicals) and yes we were SWORN to HIPAA. The only way we could make any kind of external report is if another adult or child was abused and it had better have been obvious , and only once did this happen the entire time I was in school. There was no "database"

[whag]

Covert federal gun registration? I'll say it

Shocking that a 9/11 truther would say that.