"Oh, Florida, You Really Are the “Worst State”"

[applegrove]

Last edited Sat Jul 20, 2013, 10:26 PM - Edit history (1)

Oh, Florida, You Really Are the “Worst State”

by Laura Finley at Common Dreams

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/07/20-2

"SNIP......................................

Another Rick Scott loser is the law that has come to be known as “Docs v. Glocks.” This gem prohibits doctors from asking their patients about guns in their homes. While clearly it is essential that gun owners store their weapons safely, the NRA-backed legislation would make asking this standard risk-assessment question a misdemeanor, subject to a $10,000 fine and even potentially the loss of medical licensure. A U.S. District Court ruled that the law was an unconstitutional restriction on doctor’s right to free speech.

In both cases, Governor Scott vowed to fight the court decisions, at taxpayer expense, of course. By August 2012, the governor reportedly had spent more than $880,000 to fight for Docs v. Glocks. He reportedly spent more than $190,000 to fight for the drug testing program. In December 2012, the Miami New Times reported that Scott had spent more than $1 million on lawsuits related to his controversial laws.

And, while Governor Scott was a Tea Party darling for his repeated pronouncements about “limited government,” it is clear that these two laws are anything but that. Instead, Scott seems to feel that it is all fine and dandy if the government gets into our bodily fluids or our medical consultations.

The list of Governor Scott-isms could go on and on. Suffice it to say that John Oliver has it right: "Just because you're shaped like some combination of a gun and a dick doesn't mean you have to act that way." Indeed.


......................................SNIP"

[Cha]

1. Thanks applegrove.. Let Florida get a

decent responsible Gov in 2014!

[ellenfl]

3. from your lips to fsm's ears. i miss lawton chiles.

too bad we can't get bob graham to run again.

[Boom Sound 416]

2. Does the dr record the information somewhere

[Hoyt]

5. Mostly, these are pediatricians trying to warn parents.

I hope someday docs start suggesting kids take their aging parents car keys and guns when the time comes.

[Boom Sound 416]

6. that the kids have guns?

[Hoyt]

7. They do if patents don't treat them carefully, which most don't. How about you?

[Boom Sound 416]

8. I'm lost. Patients or parents

[Hoyt]

9. Hope you are not as easily confused when toting in public.

[Boom Sound 416]

10. Throttle back

And read your post #7 and tell me if you we're referring to patents, patients or parents. Because if you are talking about patents, I'd love to hear about your invention.

[sheshe2]

4. Thanks applegrove.

He's up for re election next year.

GOTV2014

[Boom Sound 416]

11. Here is your mirror

Snip

Many states have some form of stand-your-ground law. Alabama,[14] Alaska,[15] Arizona,[16] California,[17][18] Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa,[19] Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana,[16] Maine, Massachusetts (though the term is used very loosely there),[20] Michigan,[16] Mississippi, Missouri, Montana,[16] New Hampshire,[16] North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma,[16] Pennsylvania,[21] Rhode Island,[22] South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee,[16] Texas,[23] Utah,[24] West Virginia,[16] Wisconsin[25] and Wyoming have adopted Castle Doctrine statutes, and other states (Iowa,[26] Virginia,[27] and Washington) have considered stand-your-ground laws of their own.[28][29][30]

For example, Michigan's stand-your-ground law, MCL 780.972, provides that "[a]n individual who has not or is not engaged in the commission of a crime at the time he or she uses deadly force may use deadly force against another individual anywhere he or she has the legal right to be with no duty to retreat if . . . [t]he individual honestly and reasonably believes that the use of deadly force is necessary to prevent" the imminent death, great bodily harm, or sexual assault of himself or another individual.[31] The "reasonable belief" requirement is different from a sincere belief, meaning that a "reasonable person" should be able to examine the situation and see a threat to life or serious injury. For example, a man who is mugged at gunpoint and then shoots the mugger in the back as he is running away might "sincerely" believe the mugger was going to turn around and shoot him, but such a belief would likely not be considered "reasonable" under the circumstances.

Some of the states that have passed or are considering stand-your-ground laws already implement stand-your-ground principles in case law. Indiana and Georgia, among other states, passed stand-your-ground statutes due to possible concerns of existing case law being replaced by the "duty to retreat" in later court rulings. Other states, including Washington[citation needed] and Virginia,[citation needed] have implemented stand-your-ground judicially but have not adopted statutes. West Virginia had a long tradition of "stand your ground" in its case law[32] before codifying it as a statute in 2008. These states did not have civil immunity for self-defense in their previous self-defense statutes.