# I pit anti-gun pediatricians **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 21, 2013, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-anti-gun-pediatricians/653578 "2013-03-21T22:40:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2013, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-anti-gun-pediatricians/653578/81 "2013-03-23T14:31:51Z")
It’s just a side-effect of mentally grouping all people into either “yay guns, I love guns, guns are awesome!” or “guns are the devil! I want to take your guns!” If you think that way, then I guess anyone saying anything about guns that is not overtly pro-gun-owning is a sign that they’re in Camp Take-Your-Guns. This is why we can’t have reasonable policy debates in this country. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2013, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-anti-gun-pediatricians/653578/82 "2013-03-23T17:54:13Z")
> [@L. G. Butts](#): > > I thought it was a good article and said so, it’s still a weak pitting. Whatever, vote with your wallet and find a new doctor. Did you miss the part where they note that this sort of attitude is widespread? Its their attitude that needs to be changed not my choice of doctor. > [@BobLibDem](#): > > Just when I think gun nuts can’t be bigger assholes, someone goes ahead and proves me wrong. WAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! A doctor gave me a pamphlet about safety! WAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! But there are other things that could cause death or injury! WAAAAAAHHHHHHH! And they didn’t ask about those! WAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! It proves an animosity towards guns that supercedes their desire to actually reduce child deaths. About 3500 kids drown every year. About 30% of all kids age 1 to 4 who died from an unintentional injury died from drowning. [http://www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/water-safety/waterinjuries-factsheet.html](http://www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/water-safety/waterinjuries-factsheet.html) Fewer than 20 kids under the age of 4 die from accidental gunshot wounds every year. [Broker Version 9.4 (Build 1366)](http://webappa.cdc.gov/cgi-bin/broker.exe) And yet pediatricians feel the need to ask about guns in the house (merely to distribute information of course) but not pools. > [@](#): > > Here’s the straight dope: Lots of morons own guns. It’s almost a requirement. If handing out 1000 pamphlets saves 1 life, I’d say it’s a win. If you don’t want or need it, fine. Recycle it. But quit your fucking whining. Right, because people who disagree with you must be stupid :rolleyes: They’re not asking out of concern for my kid, they are asking out an overblown fear of guns. They are asking to imply that I am putting my children at some extraordinary risk by having a gun in the house when they ask about guns but not about pools. > [@even\_sven](#): > > Hospitals won’t even let a newborn out the door if you do not have a car seat, and usually they offer car seat installation and safety information. > > Are they anti-car? > > Providing objective advice on relevant safety issues is absolutely a pediatrician a job. So why not a lecture about pools? > [@MandaJo](#): > > Given that we don’t have a licensing procedure, and many gun owners do not have a CCP and have taken no classes, does it seem more reasonable to you that a pediatrician would ask these questions? Not if they ask about guns and not pools. > [@](#): > > In other words, why are you ok with the government forcing gun owners to be exposed to information in order to be gun owners, but you are affronted that a doctor would offer to expose you to the same information voluntarily? Yes, because they are asking everyone this question. Gun owner and non-gun owner. They are basically teaching everyone that guns are particularly dangerous for kids so some parents who don’t know anything about guns will have the impression that owning guns are somehow irresponsible and bad for children when it is clear that pools are far more dangerous than guns. They are giving me all sorts of warnings and precautions about having guns in the home and they never did that with my pool. They even advise getting rid of guns in the home, they never advised cementing over my pool. Its this sort of overblown animosity towards guns that makes the gun lobby wary about “medical research” on gun violence. > [@Algher](#): > > My issue with this is … > > Now, I just say “no.” Saves us all a lot of time. > > If I had unlimited time with the doctor, it would be fine. My issue is that they are demonizing gun ownership as bad parenting when they highlight gun ownership but not pool ownership. Its not just the dispensation of information, there is an attitude like I’m keeping loose rattlesnakes as pets in the house. > [@Blackberry](#): > > I lie to doctors about a few things. No need to get a lecture about something that I’m not going to change anyway. Well, my complaint is: why a lecture about guns and not pools? > [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > Is this true, or is an organization “anti-gun” just because the NRA says so? Meaning, do you have any evidence of the American Academy of Pediatrics being anti-gun? They are not neutral about guns. > **[Why Doctors Should Not Ask Their Patients About Guns](https://www.forbes.com/sites/paulhsieh/2013/01/22/why-doctors-should-not-ask-their-patients-about-guns/)** > > President Obama and the American Academy of Pediatrics are misguided. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/r/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2012/12/30/National-Politics/Graphics/Obamacareletter.pdf](http://www.washingtonpost.com/r/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2012/12/30/National-Politics/Graphics/Obamacareletter.pdf) [http://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/all-around/Pages/Gun-Safety-Keeping-Children-Safe.aspx?nfstatus=401&nftoken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&nfstatusdescription=ERROR%3A+No+local+token](http://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/all-around/Pages/Gun-Safety-Keeping-Children-Safe.aspx?nfstatus=401&nftoken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&nfstatusdescription=ERROR%3a+No+local+token) [quote=“kayaker, post:77, topic:653578”] [NPR just did a piece about how varied physician’s opinions are about guns.](http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/03/21/174851371/colorado-doctors-treating-gunshot-victims-differ-on-gun-politics) Its not just “don’t have guns in the home,” which would be bad enough. Its: “talk to the parents of other children who have guns int the home” They overblow the risk associated with guns and it undermines their credibility. Thats why you have articles like this:[http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/130/5/e1416.full](http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/130/5/e1416.full) But I can’t find an article where pediatricians support banning pools. With pools they just advocate things like fences and teaching kids how to be safe in a home with a pool (learning to swim). With guns, they advocate banning guns as much as possible, telling parents not to have guns, and telling them to find out if their kids friends have guns in the house and talking to the parents of those kids. > [@even\_sven](#): > > I’m still trying to figure out the process here: > > 1. Pediatrician delivers pamphlet on basic, widely agreed, NRA-approved gun safety. > 2. Something… > 3. Jackbooted thugs > > Anyone? Did I say jackbooted thugs or do you read that into the posts of everyone you disagree with. I know that any anti-gun position is likely not to upset you because it is one of the rights you don’t care about because it doesn’t directly affect you but you should care. The sanctity of any of the rights depends on the sanctity of all the rights, without that, the bill of rights is just a siggection subject to popular opinion. Repeal the second amendment if you can, but treating the second amendment like the red headed stepchild of the bill of rights only opens the door for treating other rights (say the right to privacy and choice) the same way when they become unpopular. > [@MsWhatsit](#): > > It’s just a side-effect of mentally grouping all people into either “yay guns, I love guns, guns are awesome!” or “guns are the devil! I want to take your guns!” > > If you think that way, then I guess anyone saying anything about guns that is not overtly pro-gun-owning is a sign that they’re in Camp Take-Your-Guns. This is why we can’t have reasonable policy debates in this country. Or its because of the published positions of the AAP. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2013, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-anti-gun-pediatricians/653578/83 "2013-03-23T18:51:23Z")
> [@L. G. Butts](#): > > I thought it was a good article and said so, it’s still a weak pitting. Whatever, vote with your wallet and find a new doctor. Obviously many people giving this advice have never lived in a small town where there is one GP, perhaps not even a pediatriciain and the nearest town is an hour away [or in the case of many western states several hours away.] When you work a minimum wage job during normal business hours and have no effective vacation time, managing to get a kid to an appointment out of town becomes effectively impossible [especially if you do not happen to have a vehicle because you live in a town small enough that you walk everywhere to save money by not paying for gas and insurance for a vehicle.] Being poor sucks, being poor in a rural community without a ‘personal support system’ [ie family and friends who can give rides or babysit or even run your kids to the doctor for you] sucks more. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2013, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-anti-gun-pediatricians/653578/84 "2013-03-23T19:30:07Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Obviously many people giving this advice have never lived in a small town where there is one GP, perhaps not even a pediatriciain and the nearest town is an hour away [or in the case of many western states several hours away.] When you work a minimum wage job during normal business hours and have no effective vacation time, managing to get a kid to an appointment out of town becomes effectively impossible [especially if you do not happen to have a vehicle because you live in a town small enough that you walk everywhere to save money by not paying for gas and insurance for a vehicle.] > > Being poor sucks, being poor in a rural community without a ‘personal support system’ [ie family and friends who can give rides or babysit or even run your kids to the doctor for you] sucks more. And if that small town pediatrician that was hard to avoid asked if you had guns in the house, it’d be worse than living in an Islamo-fascist regime. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2013, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-anti-gun-pediatricians/653578/85 "2013-03-23T19:41:20Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > Mine asks if my husband beats me. (The question is “do you feel safe in your home”.) > > Do men get asked that, or is it just women? In my ER it’s a mandatory check box on every adult pt, same as smoking. I’m not ashamed to say that I pencil whip that on some of my pts, toothache? Migraine? Pulled you out of a burning car, did they? On Topic, I rail against nanny state stuff sometimes, but I was at a peds conference recently where they claimed a 50% reduction in accidental child deaths since the 80’s. Car seats, bike helmets, pool safety. Fifty fucking percent; trust me, dead kids suck. OP, did they actually try to discourage you from owning a gun, or just establish safety? Big difference. ---
**Author:** ![papergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2013, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-anti-gun-pediatricians/653578/86 "2013-03-23T19:43:47Z")
An assistant at my kids’ pediatrician asks those questions: Exercise? Seat belts? Guns? Helmets when riding bikes? And they do have free bike helmets, too, and I believe you can also get a free car seat if you need one for your little one. My gyno, and the nurses when I went to the hospital to have babies, always ALWAYS sent my husband out with paperwork and used the alone-time to ask me if I was afraid of him or if he was abusive. Standard stuff. Why get your panties in a twist? ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2013, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-anti-gun-pediatricians/653578/87 "2013-03-23T19:48:19Z")
> [@papergirl](#): > > Why get your panties in a twist? Twisting panties is a constitutional right! How dare you try to take away my freedums! ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2013, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-anti-gun-pediatricians/653578/88 "2013-03-23T20:22:36Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > About 3500 kids drown every year. About 30% of all kids age 1 to 4 who died from an unintentional injury died from drowning. [http://www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/water-safety/waterinjuries-factsheet.html](http://www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/water-safety/waterinjuries-factsheet.html) > > Fewer than 20 kids under the age of 4 die from accidental gunshot wounds every year. [Broker Version 9.4 (Build 1366)](http://webappa.cdc.gov/cgi-bin/broker.exe) > > And yet pediatricians feel the need to ask about guns in the house (merely to distribute information of course) but not pools. Here’s a fun fact: for the purpose of demonstrating that drowning is more common than accidental shootings, you define “kids” as “under 14” for the drowning part, and “under 4” for the shooting part. That’s some pretty egregious bullshit right there. > [@](#): > > They’re not asking out of concern for my kid, they are asking out an overblown fear of guns. They are asking to imply that I am putting my children at some extraordinary risk by having a gun in the house when they ask about guns but not about pools. They are certainly asking out of concern for your child’s safety, jesus. Guns are dangerous for kids if they’re not stored safely. How is that a fucking mystery to you? > [@](#): > > So why not a lecture about pools? Where do you live? Because in Florida you will certainly get a discussion about pool safety. In Colorado, not so much. > [@](#): > > Not if they ask about guns and not pools. So are you pissed that they asked about guns, or pissed that they didn’t ask about pools? If they asked you about pools and guns, would you still have your panties in a wad about “mah rights!” > [@](#): > > Its this sort of overblown animosity towards guns that makes the gun lobby wary about “medical research” on gun violence. Yeah, you’ve been successful at suppressing all fact collecting regarding guns for decades now, so we are all forced to collectively bury our heads in the sand so people like you can go on the internet and bitch about a pediatrician trying to help you better secure your weapons so your kid doesn’t get shot. :rolleyes: > [@](#): > > My issue is that they are demonizing gun ownership as bad parenting when they highlight gun ownership but not pool ownership. Its not just the dispensation of information, there is an attitude like I’m keeping loose rattlesnakes as pets in the house. Guns aren’t pools. > [@](#): > > Well, my complaint is: why a lecture about guns and not pools? Because guns aren’t pools. > [@](#): > > They are not neutral about guns. All the AAP cites say “it’s best not to have guns around children, but if you do, keep them safely stored”. That’s not ridiculous except to you, apparently. > [@](#): > > But I can’t find an article where pediatricians support banning pools. With pools they just advocate things like fences and teaching kids how to be safe in a home with a pool (learning to swim). With guns, they advocate banning guns as much as possible, telling parents not to have guns, and telling them to find out if their kids friends have guns in the house and talking to the parents of those kids. Because guns aren’t pools. And they don’t say “ban guns”, they say “if you have them, store them safely”. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2013, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-anti-gun-pediatricians/653578/89 "2013-03-23T20:53:36Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > Or its because of the published positions of the AAP. Nope, pretty much what I said. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2013, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-anti-gun-pediatricians/653578/90 "2013-03-23T21:10:22Z")
> [@Damuri Ajashi](#): > > About 3500 kids drown every year. About 30% of all kids age 1 to 4 who died from an unintentional injury died from drowning. > [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > Here’s a fun fact: for the purpose of demonstrating that drowning is more common than accidental shootings, you define “kids” as “under 14” for the drowning part, and “under 4” for the shooting part. That’s some pretty egregious bullshit right there. Technically, no, although DA did carve off “zero to 1”. No mention of “14”. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2013, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-anti-gun-pediatricians/653578/91 "2013-03-23T21:23:28Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > When my wife was pregnant, she got asked several times if she felt safe in the home. A couple of times, when she was asked to give a urine sample, there was a form included in the packet of stuff they gave her. It said if she needed help dealing with an abusive relationship, just check this box and turn the form in with all the other stuff. It gave her the opportunity to make contact with help while in the bathroom by herself, in complete privacy. I can see why they do it - particularly for pregnant women who could be bringing a new baby into a potentially dangerous situation. I wasn’t offended or anything. I was mostly just sad that that’s the world we live in these days. I remember an obstetrician treating my wife approaching me alone and asking didn’t I care about her health, that she could die.:smack: I was like are you fucking crazy? I’m not the one encouraging her to take the baby to term/viability she is. If you think I haven’t been worried about her health and only care about the baby you’re nuts, second of all if I do anything other than honor her wishes she will murder me(well not really but yea you know). Nah but seriously she decided she was putting the baby ahead of her health, I disagreed but I wasn’t going to go against her wishes either. ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2013, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-anti-gun-pediatricians/653578/92 "2013-03-23T21:29:06Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Technically, no, although DA did carve off “zero to 1”. No mention of “14”. Look at the links. The CDC number defines children from 1-14. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2013, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-anti-gun-pediatricians/653578/93 "2013-03-23T22:26:02Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > Mine asks if my husband beats me. (The question is “do you feel safe in your home”.) > > Do men get asked that, or is it just women? I was asked a variation of that when I was just at the ER getting my dislocated shoulder fixed. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2013, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-anti-gun-pediatricians/653578/94 "2013-03-23T22:35:54Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > And yet pediatricians feel the need to ask about guns in the house (merely to distribute information of course) but not pools. From the American Academy of Pediatrics: [http://www.pediatricassociatesnh.com/uploads/Water%20Safety.pdf](http://www.pediatricassociatesnh.com/uploads/Water%20Safety.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2013, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-anti-gun-pediatricians/653578/95 "2013-03-23T23:25:19Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > Hey, it just seemed like either that’s what you meant, or you were getting all moist and quivery for the idyllic days of the past when no women were ever beaten. We got guys around here like that, I don’t know if you’re one of them or not. So those are the only two options. Either I think all the wommenfolk should be soundly thrashed every fortnight to keep 'em in line, whether they need it or not, or else I’m a “most and quivery” bundle of sobs pining for a mythical golden age of yore, when men and women held hands and sang hymns together night and day before expressing their deep and mutually respectful love for one another. See, here I thought that maybe I could just think that it sucks that domestic abuse is such a common issue that hospitals need to take this action, while _at the same time_ not being so hopelessly naive and ignorant as to think that men beating women is a whole new thing that’s the result of, I don’t know, fluoride in the water or exposure to cell phone rays. Yes, OBVIOUSLY this has been a huge problem since pretty much day one of humanity. Why does that mean I can’t pause for a moment and think, “Man, that sucks” when my wife gets that question before moving on with my life? Apparently, though, that’s not an option. I guess I best go whittle myself a switch and lay into the little darlin’ like my daddy done taught me. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2013, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-anti-gun-pediatricians/653578/96 "2013-03-23T23:25:29Z")
I really don’t have a dog in this fight, having little interest in obtaining a gun or a kid, but what the hell is this word, I’m curious? > [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > siggection ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2013, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-anti-gun-pediatricians/653578/97 "2013-03-24T03:59:23Z")
> [@outlierrn](#): > > OP, did they actually try to discourage you from owning a gun, or just establish safety? Big difference. They encouraged me to get rid of my guns. The pamphlet notes that the safest home is a home without guns, not a home without pools or a home without rat poison, a home without guns. > [@papergirl](#): > > An assistant at my kids’ pediatrician asks those questions: Exercise? Seat belts? Guns? Helmets when riding bikes? And they do have free bike helmets, too, and I believe you can also get a free car seat if you need one for your little one. Hmm, OK maybe they do it in some places, I’ve never heard of it and I think they take blue cross. They asked if he was riding a tricycle (with a helmet) but they didn’t ask in the same way that they asked about guns in the home. They got this look of concern on their face about the guns safely stored in the gun safe that they didn’t have about my three year old riding a tricycle without a helmet. > [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > Here’s a fun fact: for the purpose of demonstrating that drowning is more common than accidental shootings, you define “kids” as “under 14” for the drowning part, and “under 4” for the shooting part. That’s some pretty egregious bullshit right there. /sigh If thats the way you see it then here: [http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/130/5/e1416.full?sid=0fd76a3f-2ca9-4069-9960-8c889def313a](http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/130/5/e1416.full?sid=0fd76a3f-2ca9-4069-9960-8c889def313a) in 2009, of the 114 accidental deaths of children, 66 were in the 15-19 year category leaving 48 in the 14 and under category. Compare that to 3500 accidental drownings of children under 14 every year. > [@](#): > > They are certainly asking out of concern for your child’s safety, jesus. Guns are dangerous for kids if they’re not stored safely. How is that a fucking mystery to you? If they were concerned about his safety then they would ask about pools. If they were so concerned about safety then they would spend at least as much energy evangelizing against pools as they do against guns but they don’t. They are concerned about a threat that they have overblown in their own minds. > [@](#): > > Where do you live? Because in Florida you will certainly get a discussion about pool safety. In Colorado, not so much. Northern Virginia. We live in a neighborhood with lots of pools. > [@](#): > > So are you pissed that they asked about guns, or pissed that they didn’t ask about pools? If they asked you about pools and guns, would you still have your panties in a wad about “mah rights!” It depends on how they asked. And its not about Mah Rights. Its about an animosity and demonization of something that claims 66 children under 14 in accidnetal death (to the point of suggesting you get rid of them) compared to soemthing that claims 3500 children under 14 in accidental deaths where they don’t even mention it and I don’t think they generally suggest anyone cement over their pool. > [@](#): > > Yeah, you’ve been successful at suppressing all fact collecting regarding guns for decades now, so we are all forced to collectively bury our heads in the sand so people like you can go on the internet and bitch about a pediatrician trying to help you better secure your weapons so your kid doesn’t get shot. :rolleyes: We haven’t been suppressing “ALL” fact collecting for decades, we have been suppressing the CDC (and other members of the medical establishment) from conducting gun “research” In the meanwhile Hemenway at Harvard, the Department of Justice, and the CDC has certainly been gathering data or have you been missing the links to the CDC site on gun deaths? The CDC ban is a lot narrower than you think even if it has had the effect of chilling gun research at the CDC generally. > [@](#): > > Guns aren’t pools. Yeah, pool are more dangerous. > [@](#): > > Because guns aren’t pools. Yeah, pools are a LOT more dangerous. > [@](#): > > All the AAP cites say “it’s best not to have guns around children, but if you do, keep them safely stored”. That’s not ridiculous except to you, apparently. Maybe you should read the cites again. > [@](#): > > Advice to parents > The best way to keep your children safe from injury or death from guns is to NEVER have a gun in the home. > > Do not purchase a gun, especially a handgun. > Remove all guns present in the home. > Talk to your children about the dangers of guns, and tell them to stay away from guns. > Find out if there are guns in the homes where your children play. If so, talk to the adults in the house about the dangers of guns to their families. > For those who know of the dangers of guns but still keep a gun in the home. > > Always keep the gun unloaded and locked up. > Lock and store the bullets in a separate place. > Make sure to hide the keys to the locked boxes. > > Last Updated 3/15/2013 > Source TIPP—The Injury Prevention Program (Copyright © 1994 American Academy of Pediatrics, Updated 9/2005) Read the other cites and tell me if you think they are neutral or even objective on guns (heck they may seem objective to you but I doubt you are objective on guns either (no offense)). > [@](#): > > Because guns aren’t pools. And they don’t say “ban guns”, they say “if you have them, store them safely”. Read the cites. They say they want to ban guns. And pools are ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE more dangerous than guns to a child. > [@MsWhatsit](#): > > Nope, pretty much what I said. Nope, not really. Read the cites. > [@Ethilrist](#): > > Technically, no, although DA did carve off “zero to 1”. No mention of “14”. > [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > Look at the links. The CDC number defines children from 1-14. I hope that the additional data has convinced you. After all, when confronted with new data, you are allowed to change your opinion… assuming you are not immune to data. > [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > From the American Academy of Pediatrics: > > [http://www.pediatricassociatesnh.com/uploads/Water%20Safety.pdf](http://www.pediatricassociatesnh.com/uploads/Water%20Safety.pdf) Maybe thats from the AAP but thats not the pamphlet they gave me. > [@Filbert](#): > > I really don’t have a dog in this fight, having little interest in obtaining a gun or a kid, but what the hell is this word, I’m curious? Suggestion. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2013, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-anti-gun-pediatricians/653578/98 "2013-03-24T05:33:44Z")
What do you mean, “maybe it’s from the AAP”? It has the AAP name and logo right on the document. Do you think that **Captain Amazing** photoshopped it on there, or what? PS: Your “quote two lines, respond, quote another line, respond” style of posting is really annoying to read, if you care. If you want to respond to multiple posters, maybe just put all the quoted posts one after the other at the top, then all of your responses together below. Like: > [@Poster A](#): > > Blah. > [@Poster B](#): > > Blah? > [@Poster C](#): > > Blah; blah. **Poster A** , I found your use of the simple period very refreshing. **Poster B** , I think you’ll find that your question was sufficiently answered in **Poster A** ’s OP. **Poster C** , the use of the semicolon was bold, but I think it really worked. ---
**Author:** ![drew870mitchell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drew870mitchell/32/3946_2.png) [@drew870mitchell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drew870mitchell)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2013, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-anti-gun-pediatricians/653578/99 "2013-03-24T06:51:41Z")
There should be Razzies for Pit threads at the end of the year. ---
**Author:** ![panaccione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@panaccione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panaccione)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2013, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-anti-gun-pediatricians/653578/100 "2013-03-24T07:36:59Z")
Words fail. OP, do yourself and listen to your pediatrician. He gave you a friendly reminder about gun safety. You should be thankful. There’s no reason at all for the anger. None. A gun is a deadly fucking weapon and kids kill themselves with it all the time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-anti-gun-pediatricians/653578.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-anti-gun-pediatricians/653578.md?page=6)