"Say 'Ahhh'. Does Daddy Have a Gun?"

(title borrowed from Bob Barr http://blogs.ajc.com/bob-barr-blog/2011/05/02/“say-‘ahhh-’-does-daddy-have-a-gun/)

We recently moved to the burbs of Atlanta, Georgia. With two young children, one of my first tasks was to find a convenient and reputable pediatrician. In a metropolis like this, it wasn't at all hard to find a great place. Unlike the small-town where I came from in Florida, doctors in the big city must compete for business, which means their offices are nicer and *hopefully* their studies are current.

I logged into the website for our new Ped to fill out the appropriate new patient paperwork. One of the first questions on the family history reports was "Is there a firearm in the home". I was taken aback! What business is it of the pediatrician if we own a gun? And now that my medical records are all going online, who will have access to this information?

The next day I was eating lunch at Moe's with my boys and a police officer walked passed the table. I stopped him to ask if this firearm question was something that the Georgia Legislature required. He told me no, that maybe the pediatrician just wanted to teach "gun safety"! Then he went on to explain that the town we live in, Kennesaw, does have a law on the books that says every resident in Kennesaw MUST own a firearm! The law came about when Chicago banned guns a few years ago.

I say: way to stand up for our rights, Kennesaw! And a couple weeks later, this opinion came out in the Atlanta Journal Constitution: http://blogs.ajc.com/bob-barr-blog/2011/05/02/“say-‘ahhh-’-does-daddy-have-a-gun/

Should pediatricians be asking parents if there are guns in the house?

I left the question blank.