Court mulls law limiting docs' talk with patients about guns

ATLANTA (AP) — As a national debate rages on gun rights and gun control, a federal appeals court is mulling a Florida law that restricts doctors from talking about gun ownership with patients.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday heard arguments on a legal challenge to the 2011 law that requires doctors to have a legitimate safety concern before they start asking a patient about guns.

Supporters of the law, including the National Rifle Association, say it's is necessary because they believe doctors were overstepping their bounds by pushing an anti-gun, anti-Second Amendment political agenda to patients.

A main problem with the law is that it effectively stops many doctors from asking relevant questions about guns because they fear that a patient will take offense and file a complaint with the Florida Board of Medicine, argued Douglas Hallward-Driemeier, an attorney for the doctors.