Do you own a gun?

[JackRydden224]

I think the insurance company or some law is probably pushing the doctor to ask those questions. When I told my doctor I own guns, unsolicited, he told me he used to go hunting back when he was in med school in Michigan and how he misses his silencers. He also told me I should get my blood tested for lead if I shoot a lot.

When I go see an Optometrist I'm going to tell him/her so I can get prescription for astigmatism. I want to say goodbye to blurry red dots.

[Mot Mi]

My doctor has asked me and I've always said no as it's none of their business anyways.

[philobeddoe]

All my doctors know I have guns.
I know all my doctors have guns.

I've bumped into a doctor of mine at a gun shop,
Martin B. Redding in Culver City.

I've had a doctor clear a procedure through insurance
stating that I needed the limb to shoot and ride.

I don't recollect any doctor just up and asking me about it though.

[bk23103]

The whole reason the doctors ask us if we have guns is so that those who answered "YES" will be flagged in the system.

Ten years from now, when a CalGuns member is going through a bout of depression due to a divorce with his wife who has mysteriously developed pointy elbows, or has left him for a man with more defined visible abs, he'd better not seek treatment for his depression because the doctor's office can contact local law enforcement and send them out to seize his guns "for his own safety." F that.

[CSACANNONEER]

"I own nail guns, caulking guns, etc. Why do you ask? What does this have to do with my colonoscopy?"

[ChuckDizzle]

The whole reason the doctors ask us if we have guns is so that those who answered "YES" will be flagged in the system.

Ten years from now, when a CalGuns member is going through a bout of depression due to a divorce with his wife who has mysteriously developed pointy elbows, or has left him for a man with more defined visible abs, he'd better not seek treatment for his depression because the doctor's office can contact local law enforcement and send them out to seize his guns "for his own safety." F that.

Lol, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.

How to paranoid people like you even function? Your doctor is the person you have chosen to trust with the handling of your genitals and inspection of your prostate. Yet you think when he/she asks about guns they are furthering some shadowy government agenda?

A lot of people die every year from guns. Many people suffer adverse health conditions due to lead exposure. Pretending that gun ownership and use doesn't come with health risks is just plain ignorant. They also ask if you smoke, if you drink alcohol, how many hot dogs you eat in a week...

[71MUSTY]

If asked, I would ask

"Are you practicing medicine or politics?"

Course I have him check my blood lead level's annually and have taken my doctor shooting so i doubt he would ask.

[keith1911]

I haven't been asked by my doctor and have intentionally kept quiet. But when he needs to dig a couple shotgun pellets out of me after a hunting incident it is kind of hard to keep it under wraps. lol

[JackRydden224]

Lol, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.

How to paranoid people like you even function? Your doctor is the person you have chosen to trust with the handling of your genitals and inspection of your prostate. Yet you think when he/she asks about guns they are furthering some shadowy government agenda?

A lot of people die every year from guns. Many people suffer adverse health conditions due to lead exposure. Pretending that gun ownership and use doesn't come with health risks is just plain ignorant. They also ask if you smoke, if you drink alcohol, how many hot dogs you eat in a week...

You are not allowed to make logical statements.

But yes, I trust my doctor for my health and my health comes before my guns.

[NiteQwill]

My doc checks my lead level every year, knows I reload, and by his deduction, probably knows I own firearms.

When I ask my patients about firearms, it's usually because we are talking about hunting, they were bit by a tick in the field, or because they reload, as well. 99.999% of the time, it does not affect the prescription I write or the treatment I recommend.

I can promise you that 99% of the health care professionals do not care if you own a firearm. Including me.

With that said, do I personally put that info in a patient's chart? No. I only document firearm use if the chief complaint is related to their care (gun shot wound, shotgun pellet stuck, etc.).

[50BMGBOB]

People post all over the Web and then don't want anyone to know...

I don't hide it. I even offer to take strangers shooting. I got to take my dentist and his entire staff to the range, most of who had never shot before. They had a ball shooting everything from 22LR to my 50BMG.

[FresnoRob]

No I don't own a gun. If he asks if I own any guns that is a different answer.

[Soginator]

I'm not sure of their reasoning for asking this question. My brother is a doctor and hates firearms, mostly because he has seen so many gunshot victims in the ER (used to work in SF). Some of his friends though don't even flinch. I got into a two hour debate with one of his coworkers over whether Colt or SA was a better 1911 manufacturer (SA is, you damn heathens!). All I can tell you is that from what I have seen, there is no official government policy to ask you this question, either at the state or federal level (unless 20+ doctors all lied to me). It seems to be internal policies for whoever is running the hospital/your healthcare insurance.

[ChuckDizzle]

People post all over the Web and then don't want anyone to know...

I don't hide it. I even offer to take strangers shooting. I got to take my dentist and his entire staff to the range, most of who had never shot before. They had a ball shooting everything from 22LR to my 50BMG.

This, why would I pass up the opportunity to be a positive ambassador for firearms ownership and the shooting sports?

I don't understand why people insist on lying to their doctors about guns, or anything else.

They are the reason when I answer honestly I drink an average of 7 alcoholic beverages one night a week they assume I actually drink 3 nights a week.

[Wadedeeper]

You should really ask how a medical practitioner feels that question pertains to a person's medical history. There is really no reason it should be asked in that context. Maybe I can understand, "Do you go to indoor shooting ranges?" since the lead can be hazardous and lead to issues over long exposures, but there is simply no reason this question needs to be asked.

I have had to remove my concealed carry pistol on one occasion when at the dentist when I was told I would be put under anesthesia and didn't expect it. I stopped the dentist and said, "Ok, but you will need to wait, I need to secure something before we get started and I got up, walked to my car, locked up my pistol, came back in, and sat down. When asked what I was doing, I showed him my Concealed Carry permit and said, if I am under the effects of any mind altering medications I am not able to keep my firearm secure and safe. The dentist was a total anti gunner and even he admitted that was the most responsible and outstanding thing he's ever seen and he has never once given me any crap for owning a gun.