The AMA opposes any law that bars doctors from having conversations about gun safety, do you agree?

[3catwoman3]

61. I'm a pediatric nurse practitioner...

...and have been since 1976.

In our practice, we cover all kinds of safety concerns - general childproofing, car seats, sun screen, insect repellent, bike helmets, don't go swimming alone, how to tell the difference between gagging and choking, exotic travel, smoking, alcohol, sex, and yes, guns.

I ask families, very politely, near the end of the safety discussion, if there is any access to weapons in their home or anywhere else the child usually go - grandparents, aunts/uncles. My goal is to have parents think about it, and to make every effort to be sure there will be no sad stories in the paper about their children. I further suggest that it can be a good conversation to have with the parents of their kids' playmates. If the kids are old enough, I also tell them that if a friend ever offers to show them a gun, they should go home immediately.

Families have never seemed offended by my asking. No one has ever declined to answer. No one has told me to mind my own business. Many have thanked me for raising the question. Whether or not they are telling me the truth, who knows, but I think most of them are most of the time. I do not ask about what is owned or where it is kept. I am not collecting data to turn over to any government agency. I have never refused to care for the children of parents who do say they own guns, nor would I, nor would any of the 9 pediatricians with whom I work.

I have done this for years, and have no plans to stop.

IMO, the notion that heath care providers are engaged in some organized effort to take away people's rights to own guns is a bunch of paranoid hooey.