Boston city officials plan on pushing legislation requiring doctors to ask patients whether or not they possess firearms in their homes.
Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s administration said Wednesday that the step would be taken to help health care providers statewide “play a larger role in addressing gun violence” by identifying red flags or patients at risk of suicide or domestic violence.
“We’re just asking them to help identify ways to save lives,” Boston Police Commissioner William Gross told the Boston Business Journal, adding that the legislation won’t suggest that doctors should solve crimes and that owning guns won’t be included in patients’ medical records.
The Walsh administration also proposed targeting gun violence by instituting fines up to $2,000 on gun owners’ vehicles that are used to transport “illegal weapons.” Similarly, the administration proposed that all Massachusetts police agencies submit ballistic evidence into national databases – something which New Jersey and Delaware already mandate. Both New Jersey and Delaware use the ballistic system NIBIN (National Integrated Ballistics Information Network) which compares guns and shell casings to ID shooters.
Recently corporations have made pushes for gun control by altering internal policies. (RELATED: Two Mega-Banks Lose Out On $600 Million Project Over Anti-Gun Policies)
In March, Citigroup imposed restrictions prohibiting the sale of firearms to persons younger than 21 or to customers who had not passed a background check. Citigroup went so far as to say they would only work with companies who agreed to these restrictions – which resulted in much outcry from conservatives and a Louisiana bond commission refusing to work with them.
Bank of America now similarly refuses to lend money to gun manufacturers that make weapons for civilian use (such as AR-15’s). Some now push for banks to report suspicious purchases, citing the Pulse Nightclub shooting as an example of how banks could have prevented the mass shooting by reporting Omar Mateen’s suspiciously pricey purchases of weapons.
Facebook, Youtube, Amazon, Shopify and Reddit have also put restrictions in place. Facebook and Amazon restrict links to codeisfreespeech.com, a website containing downloadable plans from Cody Wilson’s controversial 3D printable firearms. YouTube prohibits any content that “intends to sell” or helps to “manufacture” firearms.
Shopify changed their free speech policies to deny any space for products “intended to harm.” Reddit has banned select gun forums and created policies forbidding users to “solicit or facilitate” any commentary transactions involving firearms.
This week, House Democrats sought to quickly introduce gun control legislation. Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic majority introduced a bill on Tuesday pushing legislation mandating background checks on anyone who seeks to purchase a firearm. (RELATED: House Democrats Move Quickly To Introduce Gun Control Legislation)
