Follow-up on Florida 7 year old shooting his cousin

A few days ago, we posted an article about a 7 year old Florida boy who picked a gun up and shot at his 15 year old cousin, killing him. This article highlights the problem with leaving loaded guns around children and goes on to discuss the recent law passed in Florida to gag Physicians when talking to parents about the dangers of guns. From the article:

Doctors are often the only people to talk to parents directly about guns, especially parents of very young children. Older children may get safety tips about guns through school or activities like scouting, but even those don't always reach the parents — the people responsible for storing a gun.

That's why it's so short-sighted to tell my pediatrician her career might be in jeopardy if she asks me if I have a gun in my home, and offer storage tips if I do. It's not only a free-speech issue as doctors' groups and the Brady Campaign are arguing in court. (They cited the First Amendment as a reason why the law should be struck down, and in September a judge granted an injunction to keep the law from being enforced, for now.)

But if the state ultimately prevails, Florida's law will all but eliminate one of the best ways we have of limiting the number of lives that end like Anthony Lane's.

Someone has to talk to parents of children and the children themselves about the dangers of loaded guns in the home. Physicians are responsible for the health, safety and well-being of their patients.