© 2024 WFSU Public Media
WFSU News · Tallahassee · Panama City · Thomasville
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Atlanta Federal Court To Hear 'Docs Versus Glocks'

A group of Florida physicians is gearing up for the latest legal assault on a 2011 law that has come to be known as “docs versus Glocks.”

The law bans doctors from asking patients about gun ownership. Doctors argue it’s an unconstitutional infringement on their First Amendment rights. Tallahassee pediatrician Louis St. Petery says it’s a safety issue.

“IF you have a gun let’s talk about preventing needless injury and death because so many kids get shot because of improperly stored firearms.”

Doctors are scheduled to make their argument in a June 21 hearing before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.

The Legislature acted after the National Rifle Association complained its members were being harassed. The law also bans doctors from adding information about gun ownership to a patient’s medical records.

A Miami native, former WFSU reporter Jim Ash is an award-winning journalist with more than 20 years of experience, most of it in print. He has been a member of the Florida Capital Press Corps since 1992.