A new Florida law interferes with one of the most important professional relationships in our society – the doctor/patient relationship. Florida now threatens health care practitioners with disciplinary action for making routine inquiries about guns in the homes of their patients. The original version of the bill was even more outrageous. In the version that was first introduced, health care practitioners who inquired into or recorded information about gun ownership were guilty of a felony and could be punished with up to five years in prison and a fine up to $5 million. The medical community is, understandably, outraged and has filed a lawsuit, along with the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, to have the law struck down. Three other states, Alabama, Minnesota, and North Carolina, introduced similar measures this year.