American Academy of Pediatrics' stance on gun ownership

Our local morning show spoke of how the AAP is asking its members to ask parents of patients about their diet, their driving habits, and gun ownership. They referred to this article from USA Today, discussing how Florida has recently passed legislation prohibiting the gun ownership issue to be raised by the doctors (but the legislation itself is likely unconstitutional).

I was a bit pissed, having not really heard much about the story before. But, when I visited the AAP's website, I really got mad. Clearly, they are of the opinion that parents should not keep guns (see attached image below or go here).

From the summary and recommendations section:

1. The AAP affirms that the most effective measure to prevent firearm-related injuries to children and adolescents is the absence of guns from homes and communities.

a) Firearm regulation, to include bans of handguns and assault weapons, is the most effective way to reduce firearm-related injuries.

Don't more children die due to hospital/ doctor errors than from guns? And even more die in pools? Why don't they go after negligent doctors and parents, if they really want to keep kids safe. Hell, outlaw cars, they gotta kill more kids than anything else.

I never really thought of myself as a 'you can pry my gun from my cold, dead hand' kinda guy, although I do own a handgun. But to ask if parents own guns, then record it in their medical files? I'm about a year from having a sprout, with any luck, and my answer will sound something like, "That's none of your God-damned business!"

I'm sure the 2nd Amendment has been discussed here before, and in HELL, and maybe in other places. I apologize for bringing such an old topic up again, and perhaps in the wrong place, but the legislation piece seems to be relatively new (and, like I said, I had NO IDEA what the AAP was up to).

Have I just been naive? I mean, this screams of incrementalism and the erosion of individual liberties. To think that a generation of pediatricians is being urged to talk parents out of gun ownership 'for the safety of their children', and THEN to say there's no political motivation behind it......

Okay....long post.....probably been debated a million times. Am I becoming a conspiracy theorist or are we slowly (over the course of decades) losing the liberties that we hold so dear?

Originally Posted by laterob

Okay....long post.....probably been debated a million times. Am I becoming a conspiracy theorist or are we slowly (over the course of decades) losing the liberties that we hold so dear?

No-you aren't, and yes, we are.

For example, there are states that are refusing to allow restaurants to serve meat any way but well done, and this is being done "for our own good".

A RARE steak is being outlawed. A RARE hamburger is being outlawed.

LEAVE MY FOOD ALONE!!!

Next, they'll be telling me to report to a certain place to pick up my safe, freeze-dried, hermetically-sealed, non-fat, no sodium, no taste, high fiber, federally approved meals, and all grocery stores will go the way of the dodo.

Can you say, "Soylent Green is PEOPLE!", children??

All of this "over-governing" is a crock of s#it!

Get out of my house and my life, and leave me the Hell alone!!

By the time the majority of America wakes up enough to rise up and say NO MORE, it'll be too late. It's amazing just how many liberties can be taken away and people barely bat an eye.

The thing with airports really gets me, as an example. Look at the utter BS we have to go through in order to fly nowadays. They're groping children for goodness sake. Something that if you did outside of being a glorified security guard, you'd get arrested for. And really, just how much safer are we?

Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.
~ Benjamin Franklin

Oh, I'm sure it's going to get worse before it gets, well, MUCH worse. Governments rarely, if ever, give up their hard won power over the populace willingly.

Did you know that incandescent bulbs are being banned? Who the heck are these clowns to TELL us what sort of lights we can have in our homes? Do they honestly believe that they can do absolutely anything they want and simply justify it as "being for our own good"?

What does it take to rub their noses into the fact that the US Constitution DOES NOT grant them this sort of power over our lives?

The founders of this country tried to pen the US Constitution to protect us from the potential beast they were creating. However, the populace does not appear to have the will to enforce the chains that document put into place, and the government certainly will not stay shackled via it's own will.

Seriously, what power is there to FORCE the government to obey the Constitution? What force can be brought to bear? Unfortunately, I see none. Even worse, I see the United Nations poised to make our Constitution moot anyway. And who will stop that from happening?