Citation

McCourt AD, Vernick JS. AMA J. Ethics 2018; 20(1): 69-76.

Affiliation

A professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore and co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, American Medical Association)

DOI

10.1001/journalofethics.2018.20.1.hlaw1-1801

PMID

29360029

Abstract

Firearms in the home pose a risk to household members, including homicide, suicide, and unintentional deaths. Medical societies urge clinicians to counsel patients about those risks as part of sound medical practice. Depending on the circumstances, clinicians might recommend safe firearm storage, temporary removal of the firearm from the home, or other measures. Certain state firearm laws, however, might present legal and ethical challenges for physicians who counsel patients about guns in the home. Specifically, we discuss state background check laws for gun transfers, safe gun storage laws, and laws forbidding physicians from engaging in certain firearm-related conversations with their patients. Medical professionals should be aware of these and other state gun laws but should offer anticipatory guidance when clinically appropriate.

© 2018 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.

Language: en