Posted on 03/19/2002 5:39:25 PM PST by SUSSA
I don’t normally post SUSSA ALERTS but I think this one needs to be spread far and wide. If you agree please pass this on to people you know.
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SUSSA ALERT
The following article was written by Timothy Wheeler, MD, Director Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership, a Project of The Claremont Institute, PO Box 1931, Upland, CA 91785-1931
Dr. Wheeler gave SUSSA permission to reproduce this and distribute it to our members and elsewhere. Please read this carefully and pass it on to your family and friends.
Many doctors’ organizations are under the control of anti-civil rights extremists and are actively encouraging their members to work against the Bill of Rights. We need to AGGRESSIVELY fight this.
As Dr. Wheeler states in his article: “The last thing a doctor wants these days, next to a malpractice suit, is a patient complaint alleging unethical conduct.” That means the best way to fight back is to file a complaint against the offending doctor.
Some of your friends or members of your family may be reluctant to file a complaint against their doctor or pediatrician. Remind them that just refusing to answer the offending question will not stop the doctor from asking less informed patients these questions. Remind them we are fighting to preserve our freedoms and our children’s freedom. Their complaint could save a life. It will certainly eliminate one threat to our freedom.
Please spread this information to as many people as you can. With some effort we can put a stop to this assault on our rights.
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Gun Politics in Your Doctor’s Office
Do you own a gun? How many guns do you have? Do your children have access to guns in your home? Did you know that having a gun in your home triples your risk of becoming a homicide victim?
These are questions your doctor may ask you or your children as part of routine physical examinations or questionnaires. Gun-related questions in doctors’ offices, especially those coming from pediatricians, are based on a medical political movement against gun owners. That movement is led by the American Academy of Pediatrics, although the AMA and other physician groups have launched similar efforts against gun owners.
With a few rare exceptions, such questions about guns do not reflect a physician’s concern about gun safety. Rather, they are intended to prejudice impressionable and trusting children and their parents into thinking that guns are somehow bad.
That political motive makes these questions ethically wrong. Any doctor who asks them is committing a form of unethical conduct known as an ethical ,boundary violation. And any doctor who commits a boundary violation should be disciplined.
Who can discipline the physician? You, the almighty consumer. That’s right. If you, the patient or parent, file a formal written complaint with the offending doctor’s HMO or medical group, your complaint will be taken seriously. The doctor will be asked to respond to it. In any case, your polite but firm protest will be a black mark on his or her record that will likely make him or her think twice before repeating the offense.
Patients not enrolled in a health plan (HMO) might see a doctor in a small group practice or solo practice. Boundary violations by a doctor in this case can be reported to your county medical society. Although federal anti-trust laws have mostly stripped medical societies of their enforcement powers, they can still get an erring physician’s attention.
Medicine has become an extremely competitive service industry. Medical groups are trying harder than ever to please consumers. The last thing a doctor wants these days, next to a malpractice suit, is a patient complaint alleging unethical conduct.
If the doctor persists or is especially inappropriate, you can send that written complaint to your state medical licensing board. For instructions on filing a complaint go to the web site of your state government or look in the phone book for the board’s listing. This is a last resort, and it will be a definite blemish on the doctor’s career. But it may be necessary for repeat offenders. This step will apply enormous pressure on the offending physician, even if the state board takes no official action against his or her license.
To summarize: you don’t have to suffer in silence and you don’t have to disclose personal information about your gun ownership to politically motivated doctors. Most important, you can strike back at unethical doctors who abuse your trust to advance a political agenda against law-abiding gun owning families.
For more information contact Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership (DRGO), a Project of The Claremont Institute, PO Box 1931, Upland, California 91785-1931. (909) 949-9971 drgo@adelphia.net www.claremont.org, click on DRGO
http://www.haciendapub.com/
http://www.lp.org/press/archive.php?function=view&record=214
http://www.dsgl.org/links.htm
People who have diet soda might well be fatter than those who have sugared soda in their fridge - but do you really think that if you get diet soda, you will become fat? That is what the "study" is trying, miserably and dishonestly, to suggest.
Cook and Ludwig's data shows as many as 630,000 lives saved in 1994 by armed self-defense. In other words, for every person wounded or killed by gunfire in 1994, nearly five lives were saved by the defensive use of guns.
A larger study done by Dr. John Lott, showed that guns are used more than 2 million times a year in self-defense. This puts the ratio of lives saved to people killed even higher.
These studies were serious studies, done by serious researchers. The study you quote has been debunked by reviewers. The truth is guns save lives.
I'll have to find that and send it to you privately. I could just imagine doctors all over the country going pale-faced when their patients say "Hold on there a minute, Doc. Before we get in this discussion, I need you to sign something" and then whip out a little form for them to sign!
SHOOT BACK! BTTT!
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