Follow Doctor’s Orders, Lose Your Constitutional Rights
It looks like that could now be the case in the People’s Republic of New York.
A lawyer in the Buffalo area is reporting two cases where handgun ownership permits were suspended purportedly because the permit holders were taking anti-anxiety medications. The attorney is representing either one or both of the individuals involved in those cases.
Presumably, these individuals were taking their anti-anxiety medications because their physician had prescribed them.
Full details are not available, so there may be other factors involved. But even so, this raises a number of troubling questions:
- Who told police that these individuals were taking anti-anxiety medications?
- Absent other factors indicating risk, isn’t such notification a violation of privacy laws concerning information contained in personal medical records?
- Is the use of a medication alone sufficient reason to suspend a constitutional right? If so, which ones? How about other medications, like opiate pain killers prescribed post-surgery?
- How many police officials in NY take anti-anxiety medications? Are they now being removed from their jobs, since firearms proficiency is a key element in performing the duties of law enforcement?
- Are other professionals in occupations with public health and/or safety responsibilities (e.g., doctors, nurses, pharmacists, bus drivers, etc . . . . ) going to have their professional credentials suspended under similar circumstances?
- What about spouses and other family members? Do their permits get suspended if anyone in the household is taking a “prohibited medicine”?
Looks to me like “somebody’s got some ‘splainin’ to do” here, Lucy. And, frankly, I hope that ‘splainin’ is done by the idiot(s) who made this stupid decision – while they’re standing in line at the unemployment office.
That almost certainly won’t happen – this occurred in the People’s Republic of New York. But it should, and one can hope.
Category: Gun Grabbing Fascists
Bur Chuckie Schumer and the rest of the progressive keep telling us that registration and permits won’t lead to confiscation. You mean to tell me they LIED???!?? I am shocked /sarc
Hondo; it could be a matter of someone calling that State Police hotline and turning them in?
“Who told the police?”
Without any other information, and assuming the doctors did not violate patient confidentiality, I would guess that the pharmacies filling the prescriptions reported it, the same way they report people who buy excessive amount of pseudophedrine, the base chemical for meth.
Got to set a standard, use meds against some civilians first as test cases.
Once it is accepted, look out Vets.
Ex-PH2
I’m not sure the pharmacy would be required to report that…..there’s no way for them to know which patients have gun permits and could you imagine if they had to report EVERY script for those meds? That would include anti-depressants, anti-anxiety meds, what about other psychotropics? ADHD meds? How many women are prescribed anti depressants for a short term for postpartum? Is that discriminatory?
Tanker, this is NY. Depending on where you live, they can get ridiculously liberal and supportive of the Gummint’s nanny state options.
What blows donkeys is I’m on active duty but have to use local pharmacies here in upstate NY. (Too far from Drum) So, now I have to worry about what the doc might prescribe me because the pharmacy might “voluntarily” share my information, from the sound of this story.
The strange thing is, I can use anything and everything in the VA here via Tricare, EXCEPT the pharmacy. Horrible coincidence.
Discriminatory? Yes. But that was the most logical choice I could think of. Otherwise, the doctors did that and that’s a clear violation of doctor-patient privacy privilege.
Good reason to not go to a doctor except to get your blood pressure taken.
Trending on FB.
Be interesting to see what MSM does with it.
Might be the CG of that stupid law.
Double edged sword. We say there is laws and steps that can be taken to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally unstable. We say laws on the books would have stopped CT and AZ. Here is that same process we said should have been used before, but now we don’t like the outcome? For anti-anxiety meds alone it’s probably not enough, but do we know the backstory? Did these people say anything that now doctors are reporting after the shootings?
@9: Two entirely different things. In CT, he was denied the ability to legally purchase firearms, so the existing laws worked. In AZ, he was known, by the police, to be mentally unbalanced and had proven violent outbursts that were also known to police.
I have never once said that we needed new laws for the mentally unstable, because it is definitely a double edged sword, but not in the manner you are describing. HIPPA laws are there to protect privacy. If we say that we want to give up some of our 4th Amendment rights in order to “feel” safe, then we will give access to law enforcement, however; who will determine that you are unfit to have firearms? Now you’re getting into due process before a judge, not some chucklehead police chief determining it. Do we tie up the courts more, to determine if a person gets to purchase firearms? Or, do we do away with due process and let law enforcement drive out of their lane and do that and have access to everyone’s medical histories? Then, we will have the police state that the tin foil hat types have been complaining about. We’re told by baby killers that abortion is between a woman and her doctor, yet this is going to be considered an “acceptable” intrusion into privacy?
@9 In the absence of an actual study or any data correlation of anti-anxiety meds and mass murder sprees an ad-hoc ban based on the gut feelings of a faceless unelected bureaucrat is problematic. The problem I have with all of this current gun control discussion is that it’s not a discussion at all. It’s a series of politically charged diatribes devoid of factual evidence. A little discussed factoid that’s uncomfortable is that if you add in the wounded along with the dead every mass murder/spree killing since 1992 doesn’t equal the murder rate that occurs in 18 days across the country. So any legislation designed to prevent these types of mass killings/spree killings will be an almost unnoticeable effect on the murder rate in the nation. A serious discussion using the FBI crime statistics for instance would involve a very uncomfortable discussion about why blacks and hispanics between the ages of 18-32 commit 90% of the homicides in New York City. Perhaps instead of using a photo op to ban 24 oz soda pop in his city the good Mayor Bloomberg could actually try to do some heavy lifting and discuss these issues with black and hispanic leaders in the community. Of course those discussions won’t be very sexy, and probably won’t get much air time that’s why he can’t be bothered to take the time to look into what actually causes 90% of the murders in his city. It’s easier to blame a weapon type that’s not used in those 90% of murders in his city while on stage with some police officers to show that he’s doing something by God to make everyone safer, well that and the soda pop ban….both of which would actually have a zero net effect on the murder in the city of New York…. Most major metropolitan areas have a similar problem, the FBI statistics are there for anyone and everyone to see….the murder rate in the nation is the lowest it’s been in 30 years. But let’s not discuss why the rate is declining let’s focus on a single incident and… Read more »
I had to take anti-anxiety meds once to get on a plane as I have a massive fear of flying.
Reported it to my security officer due to my clearance. They laughed and said, “whatever”.
Evidently I’d lose my gun rights in NY over that though.
Didn’t the nuts who committed mass murder lately have more issues with NOT taking their prescribed drugs rather than with taking drugs as prescribed? So once again are we talking about controlling folks doing something correctly instead of addressing looking at the real problems?
So what happens if a family member is on meds?
Any idea what the law says?
If so are law enforcement exempt?
Better yet what is Cuomo’s background?
If there are chem challenges, then being around all those armed guards is dangerous…
I have seen nothing to really substantiate this story. The attorney is rapidly “building” up his business, actively seeking out clients on facebook and other venues.
In order for what is being claimed to have happened to take place, there would have been a massive violation of HIPA Laws which protect your right as a patient that your medical information remains private and is not shared with anyone absent your expressed written permission. The law applies to anyone who has access to your health care information, not jut your doctor. It applies to the nurses, techs, clerks, pharmacist, etc… So yes, I am highly skeptical of this.
Kind of goes back to stories of veterans having their guns taken away because they were deemed “incompetent ” on financial matters”, but then with a little digging it is found they are really bat shit crazy and taking their guns was prudent measure.
Until this attorney releases more substantial information than just an accusation, I am skeptical that he is doing anything more than shouting fire to drum up more business.
I believe I read an article not too long ago that said doctors would start reporting to our wonderful government their patients that owned firearms…matter of fact I think it was on this blog….sounds to me like that’s what happened…big pharmacy, doctors, and the elected officials in this country are all in bed together and we all know this…their whole goal is to get everyone dependent on medication for problems that they “detect” in their examinations…a medicated population is as vulnerable as an unarmed population… keep the masses doped up on free meds give them free food, free housing and they will just keep voting for them…not giving a damn that their rights are being taken away as long as their check shows up on time every month…
@17 – Yeah, they’re doing it to the kids already in public schools. Instead of understanding that kids are active, they are quick to diagnose with ADD/ADHD with a quick recommendation for Rx. (Not to say there are legitimate cases, but it’s a trending issue and has been for years.)
Nope, I’m not falling for that one – and neither are MY kids.
@18 – I went to a 3-room school from grade 1 to 5. There were 3 teachers taking care of 2 grade levels (e.g., 1st & 2nd grade) in that school. Somehow, those teachers managed to not only teach reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic, grammar, and all the other grade school subjects (including history) to a bunch of hyperactive kids age 6 up without breaking a sweat, they also kept order and earned their pay.
These teachers now can’t hold a candle to those ladies.