PhotoMIAMI — A federal appeals court cleared the way on Thursday for Florida doctors to talk to their patients about gun safety, overturning a 2011 law that pitted medical providers against the state’s powerful gun lobby. A number of doctors and medical organizations sued Florida in a case that came to be known as Docs v. Glocks, after the popular handgun. That portion of the law stated that doctors could not deny service to patients who owned guns, a provision that was not at the heart of the lawsuit. Under the law, doctors could lose their licenses or risk large fines for asking patients or their families about gun ownership and gun habits. “The first problem is that there was no evidence whatsoever before the Florida Legislature that any doctors or medical professionals have taken away patients’ firearms or otherwise infringed on patients’ Second Amendment rights,” the judges wrote.

Source: New York Times February 17, 2017 01:41 UTC