TALLAHASSEE — A federal appeals court has upheld the state's "docs
vs. glocks" law, overturning an earlier court ruling that had blocked
part of the measure from being enforced.
In a 2-1 ruling last week, a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the Florida Legislature
had the right to pass the law, which includes provisions restricting
doctors and other medical providers from asking questions about gun
ownership during medical visits.
Doctors and gun-control advocates said Monday they will appeal to the case to the full 11th circuit.
"In order to protect
patients, physicians have for millennia been subject to codes of conduct
that define the practice of good medicine and affirm the responsibility
physicians bear," Judge Gerald Tjoflat wrote. "In keeping with these
traditional codes of conduct — which almost universally mandate respect
for patient privacy — the Act simply acknowledges that the practice of
good medicine does not require interrogation about irrelevant, private
matters."orlandosentinel.com