Years ago, a group known as Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership (DRGO) started a campaign to warn people about so-called “boundary violations” committed by physicians who ask their patients about guns in the home, and then allegedly offer “gun safety” advice about either locking up firearms or just getting them out of the house.
Now, The Atlantic has published an article by its own Nancy Walecki indicating doctors are once again making inquiries about guns. According to Dr. John Edeen, now one of the top DRGO medical professionals, it is ground his colleagues should not be treading.
Ammoland News broke the story Thursday. The Atlantic article is headlined “The Doctor Will Ask About Your Gun Now.”
The battle over boundary violations dates back three decades. DRGO was founded in 1994 by Dr. Timothy Wheeler, who is now retired. It was quickly at odds with medical groups such as the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) over what was seen as a “culture war” the medical community was waging against gun ownership. Over the years, boundary violations have been discussed at the annual Gun Rights Policy Conference, co-sponsored by the Second Amendment Foundation and Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
Walecki’s article, which runs nearly 1,800 words, discusses a project now underway at Northwell Health, a top health system in New York State. According to The Atlantic article, patients coming into “select” emergency rooms is quizzed about firearms, and gun owners are given gun locks if they need them.
DRGO is a project of the Second Amendment Foundation, and in a sense is something of a watchdog when it comes to physicians’ organizations promoting the idea of asking about guns in the home. The consensus among gun owners is that firearms ownership is none of a physician’s business, and doctors should not be making such inquiries or offering advice unless they are also certified firearms instructors.
Walecki referred to a 2019 study which revealed less than eight percent of gun owners responding to the survey said their doctors brought up the subject.
On its website, DRGO says this about doctors who violate the boundaries:
- Doctors receive absolutely no training about firearm safety, mechanics, or tactics in medical school or residency. They are completely unqualified by their training to advise anyone about guns.
- Gun ownership is a civil right. A doctor’s abuse of his position of trust to pressure you to give up that civil right is professionally and morally wrong. In some states it is illegal. You DO NOT have to tolerate it.
- You as a consumer have great power in the doctor-patient relationship. Do not be afraid to use it.”
The Biden administration has fully embraced the notion that firearms injuries are a “public health” problem rather than a crime problem. Capitol Hill Democrats are also on that bandwagon.
