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Here’s an editorial from the Pensacola News Journal blasting the bill. It makes a lot of sense, IMO.

http://www.pnj.com/article/20110312/OPINION/103120306/Editorial-Another-bad-gun-bill

In Gov. Rick Scott’s quest to make Florida “business friendly,” he should consider the importance of having enough doctors to provide good health care to the state’s residents.

And then, should it pass, veto legislation intended to restrict doctors, nurses and other medical professionals from, in most cases, even asking about the presence of firearms in a home.

In cases where doctors might suspect depression, domestic violence, mental instability, inadequate adult oversight of children or other problems, concern about the availability of firearms becomes a potential medical issue.

Why the state should interfere in this is almost beyond comprehension. And why conservative lawmakers who profess to believe that government should stay out of health care and not impose politically motivated restrictions on individual freedom is also almost beyond comprehension.

We say “almost” because there is no real mystery: The NRA wants it. And when powerful NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer cracks her whip, Republicans in the Legislature shout “Thank you, ma’am, may I have another?”

Hammer maintains that the legislation “is about taking politics, pure politics, out of the examining room,” when of course it is exactly the reverse. It is imposing the NRA’s view of gun rights even into the medical examining room.

The NRA sees anything having to do with guns as a Second Amendment issue. But while the Constitution gives you the right to own a gun, it doesn’t say no one can ask you if have one.

The reality is this doesn’t even smack of regulating guns, much less restricting their use or ownership. But don’t hold your breath waiting for any Republican in Tallahassee to point out the obvious.

Frankly, it seems amazing that the legislation is even constitutional. What right does the state Legislature have to tell doctors what they can or cannot ask their patients in their professional duties?

Some legislators claim the law is needed because constituents complained about doctors refusing to treat them when they refused to answer the question. That refusal itself might raise a red flag if the doctor had some reason to worry about the presence of guns in a home, but otherwise, why don’t they just get another doctor? In a free society, isn’t that the proper response?

What’s next? Will people with high cholesterol who object to their doctors inquiring about their diets demand the Legislature ban doctors from asking about their potato chip consumption?

The Florida Medical Association, complaining that it’s already tough to recruit doctors to Florida, warns that the legislation — another bad gun bill sponsored by Sen. Greg Evers, R-Crestview — will make Florida “a laughingstock” in the profession.

Memo to Gov. Scott: Doctors earn a lot more than the average wage in Florida. We need more of them, not fewer.