Among the many issues Floridians want their politicians to work on (with the unemployment rate running higher than the nationwide standard), it's hard to believe that the question of whether doctors can ask patients if they own firearms would be one of them.
Yet the Florida House on Tuesday gave preliminary approval for a measure that would limit when a doctor can ask patients whether they have a gun at home. House sponsor Jason Brodeur of Fort Myers introduced the bill and said that the Florida Medical Association and the National Rifle Association had come to an agreement in supporting it.
The FMA had originally opposed it, but apparently changed its stance when the bill was changed to allow physicians to ask about guns when they believe it's relevant to a patient's health care.
This article appears in Apr 21-27, 2011.