National Review Online

An NRO reader writes to ask: "So, what do I say to my 5-year-old daughter's doctor when she asks if there's a firearm in our home (my daughter has an annual checkup fast approaching)? I do have a registered handgun in our house, but my daughter doesn't know anything about it. And, for now, I don't think she has to know. I can certainly refuse to answer, right?"

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), under the prodding of gun prohibitionist Katherine Christoffel, has developed a policy a strong antipathy to gun ownership. A few weeks ago, the president of the American Medical Association announced his determination to involve the AMA deeply in anti-gun political and "educational" work. Both groups are tied to the HELP (Handgun Epidemic Lowering Plan) Network, a consortium of gun-prohibition groups. The AAP and AMA also have working relationships with the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, which was formerly known as Handgun Control, Inc., which in turn was formerly known as the National Coalition to Control Handguns, which, despite its name, supported handgun confiscation, with "control" seen only as an intermediate step.

Both the AAP and AMA advise doctors to probe their patients about guns in their homes. Both groups urge doctors to persuade families that they should get rid of their guns.

People in pain, people fearing cancer, and people who are injured and weak are vulnerable. They all look to their doctor to do right — right for the patient, rather than for the insurance company, or for the doctor's view of social policy. Doctors have a fiduciary relationship with their patients. They are obligated to set aside personal agendas and put the patient first. Putting the patient first means that the doctor must respect boundaries in the relationship with the patient. So when the doctor makes a pass at a patient, or tries to sell her real estate, or lobbies patients against gun ownership, the doctor is committing an ethical-boundary violation. Patients notice when a doctor abuses their trust or takes advantage of their pain and fear. [For more on boundary violations by medical professionals, see Frick, D., "Nonsexual Boundary Violations in Psychiatric Treatment," Review of Psychiatry, vol. 13, (Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Press, Inc.), 1994.]