A new bill introduced in the Tennessee Legislature will prohibit healthcare providers, if passed, from asking patients whether they own or possess firearms or related items. Not only would HB 0387 defend Tennesseans from being asked an annoying and irrelevant question, but the law would come with some teeth, by way of a $1,000 fine and more if they do choose to pry.
Representative Ed Butler introduced the bill and has previously sponsored measures dealing with education, taxes, and infectious disease. HB 0387 prohibits any inquiry into a patient’s ownership, possession of, or access to firearms, ammunition, or accessories, including the denial of treatment based on knowledge of the aforementioned circumstances. It also forbids entering into the patient’s record any of the information described in the prohibition unless relevant to the patient’s medical care, safety, or the safety of others. Lastly, the bill prohibits the sharing of any such information with an insurer and requires that the healthcare provider disclose all of this to a patient before treatment.
HB 0387 includes any employee, assistant, contractor, establishment, or facility under the term “healthcare provider” but does not extend to a licensed psychiatrist or psychologist. The measure aims to prevent discrimination against patients based on the exercising of their constitutionally protected rights under the Second Amendment. If the bill passes, it will include a requirement that the healthcare provider issue the patient written notice that they are not obligated in any way to respond.
“My objective was to prevent doctors from discriminating based on whether you own a firearm or not… I’ve had constituents call because they’ve been asked… I don’t know that they necessarily were discriminated against, but the question was asked, which obviously raises concerns for them. That was the genesis for why we drafted this bill,” Butler said.
Any healthcare provider found in violation of HB 0387 will be guilty of unethical conduct and subject to disciplinary action by their licensing authority, who may also seek injunctive or other relief against that provider or an entity for violating the law. Additionally, a fine of $1,000 per violation will also be levied against the provider.
The effort, currently in committee, is a reasonable one necessary due to political polarization and the punitive nature of those on the left who, when they don’t get their way, will seek more creative ways to discriminate against law-abiding citizens, a practice that has no place in the healthcare system.
