Opinion
Right ruling
TBO.com
Published: July 7, 2012
In 1964, Barry Goldwater declared that "extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice" and "moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." Some people think this pronouncement was one of the reasons Lyndon Johnson beat Goldwater in a landslide.Published: July 7, 2012
Still, some members of the Florida Legislature took Goldwater's words a bit too much to heart and passed a law making it a crime for doctors to ask patients whether they own firearms. Last week, U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke ruled in favor of doctors, who said the law violated their First Amendment rights. We have to side with the judge in this case.
Yes, some medical groups had been urging their members to counsel patients that firearms in the home pose a health and safety risk. And in at least one case, a doctor dropped a couple from his patient roll because they refused to say if they were gun owners.
We firmly believe the Second Amendment protects the right of individuals to own firearms. We have, however, seen no reports about waves of people being forced to turn to hospital emergency rooms for care after doctors refused to treat them because they wouldn't answer questions about whether they own guns.
This suggests there was no clear and present danger that would warrant curtailing the First Amendments rights of doctors to ask nosy questions. That is usually the case when government decides to intrude on free-speech rights. We hope Judge Cooke's ruling is the final word on this matter.