![\"Doctors-and-Self-Defense-Guns\"](\"https:\/\/hcsblogdotorg.files.wordpress.com\/2016\/02\/doctors-and-self-defense-guns.jpg\")
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The controversy surrounding firearms being allowed in hospitals rages on.<\/p>\n
Those who believe that guns shouldn\u2019t be allowed in a hospital, or anywhere else\u00a0for that matter, continue to point to incidents in which the use of\u00a0a weapon is controversial.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
As Elizabeth Rosenthal points out\u00a0in her recent\u00a0article When the Hospital Fires the Bullet<\/a> most hospitals are arming their security teams\u00a0in one way or another, and in a few cases harm\u00a0has come to a patient.<\/span><\/p>\n
Becoming a patient in a hospital or other healthcare facility\u00a0doesn\u2019t automatically transform the patient into a saint.<\/p>\n
When a patient is brought to a hospital due to\u00a0street-gang related activity the street violence often spills over into the Emergency Department (ED).<\/p>\n
Staff, patients and others in the ED and hospital are in danger and have the right to be able to defend themselves.<\/h3>\n
In Rosenthal\u2019s example, a violent psychiatric patient, the situation is less clear. \u00a0The staff have a right to remain safe.\u00a0 The patient doesn\u2019t always know right from wrong or even have a grip on reality.\u00a0 Those with the responsibility of keeping order and protecting other staff have the right\u00a0to do so without\u00a0putting themselves in excessive danger.<\/p>\n
I have learned through my many years of ED and hospital work that we shouldn\u2019t be quick to judge another\u2019s use of defensive force, especially if we did not witness the event itself.\u00a0 We can second guess the situation that the security officers walked into all we want,\u00a0but without all the information we cannot make the call on who was at fault or what should have been done.<\/p>\n
As a proponent of allowing responsible citizens to carry firearms in hospitals and\u00a0other health care facilities, I do realize that carrying\u00a0a gun is not a cure-all.\u00a0 Just as chemotherapy for cancer carries a risk of side effects, the alternative is worse. We do everything we can to avoid the side effects, even while trying to kill the cancer.<\/p>\n
If we as healthcare professionals are entrusted with our patients\u2019 lives\u00a0every day, why would we not be trusted to defend our patients\u2019 lives with a\u00a0firearm<\/a>\u00a0if a\u00a0violent situation requires it?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
As Rosenthal notes, violence in health care centers<\/a> has been on the rise lately, with a 40 percent increase in violent crime from 2012-2014. Most of that\u00a0violence is directed at employees.\u00a0 Let us not forget the murder of Dr. Michael Davidson at Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital in Boston, MA, little more than a year ago.\u00a0 Without a weapon for defense Dr. Davidson had\u00a0little chance against the armed attacker and consequently lost his life.\u00a0 The \u201cgun-free zone<\/em>\u201d signs did nothing to stop the homicidal man, who was on a mission to take revenge on a physician.<\/p>\n
Contrast that to another incident in July 2014. Dr. Lee Silverman was armed despite rules against weapons on the premises. \u00a0Despite not\u00a0being able to save\u00a0the caseworker accompanying the patient,\u00a0and despite being wounded by the attacker, Dr. Silverman\u00a0was able to stop the attacker before any more people were harmed or killed.<\/p>\n
Health care professionals, staff, and even visitors, have a right to defend themselves and those around them from a violent attacker.\u00a0 Taking away this right does not make anyone safer.\u00a0 So-called gun-free zones do nothing to stop a homicidal attacker determined to\u00a0inflict harm\u00a0upon innocent people.\u00a0 Famed self-defense guruMassad Ayoob<\/a> has referred to \u201cgun free zones\u201d<\/em> as \u201chunting preserves for psychopathic murderers\u201d<\/em>. This simple but profound truth has been proven time after time.<\/p>\n
The Obama administration does nothing to make this situation any better, with Obama constantly trying to remove our constitutional rights through pressure<\/a> and executive actions<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0 The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are following in his footsteps and trying to push gun control in any way they can.<\/p>\n
Rosenthal states\u00a0\u201cthe\u00a0Medicare agency faulted St. Joseph [Hospital] for the\u00a0shooting, saying it had created \u2018immediate jeopardy to the health and safety of its patients.\u2019 Threatening to withdraw federal money, the agency demanded restrictions on the use of weapons.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Once again, a major government agency stomps on our constitutional rights with no regard to the damage they wreak.<\/h3>\n
We should all agree that the safety of patients is our first priority. \u00a0The carrying of a self-defense weapon by security detail or by staff should in no way interfere with the care of our patients.<\/p>\n
The right to keep and bear arms carries with it\u00a0a strict duty to do so in a responsible manner. The hospital environment has its own tactical considerations, but healthcare workers do not give up their right of self-defense on the job.<\/p>\n
Sometimes caring for others means keeping\u00a0them safe from a violent attacker, whether the attacker is armed or not<\/a>.\u00a0 Even though no shooting has a perfect outcome, the best outcome possible is when a defender has saved innocent people from injury or death.
\n\u2014\u00a0Dr. Sean Brodale is a family practitioner in Iowa. He is pursuing the right to carry in hospitals for eligible medical personnel. At DRGO he is involved in membership and public engagement projects.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\nDoctors for Responsible Gun Ownership, a project of the Second Amendment Foundation.\u00a0www.drgo.us<\/a><\/p>\n