Do Gun-Owners Need Privacy Protection From ‘Harassing’ Doctors?

Lawful gun owners have a right to be protected from “harassment” by physicians who lecture them about the dangers of firearms, according to an Arkansas doctor.

Writing in the Louisiana Law Review, Dr. Frank Griffin claims physicians overstep ethical boundaries and violate gun owners’ privacy rights when they question them about whether they have firearms at home that are safely stored and inaccessible to children.

“Physicians do not have a scientific, medical justification to adopt all-encompassing public health stances against gun ownership,” wrote Dr. Griffin, a retired orthopedic surgeon and an adjunct professor at the University of Arkansas School of Law. 

According to Dr. Griffin, a 2011 Florida law, the Firearm Owners Privacy Act (FOPA), which gave patients the right to “decline to answer or provide any information regarding ownership of a firearm by the patient or a family member” should be a model for other states.