Judge blocks FL law restricting doctor gun talk

A federal judge Wednesday blocked a Florida gun law that restricted doctors from asking patients about firearms. Judge Marcia G. Cooke said doctors had a First Amendment right to ask about firearms, and she rapped the state's lawyers for failing to provide more than anecdotal evidence to show the law was needed. "The State has attempted to inveigle this Court to cast this matter as a Second Amendment case," Cooke wrote. "Despite the State's insistence that the right to "keep arms" is the primary constitutional right at issue in this litigation, a plain reading of the statute reveals that this law in no way affects such rights." Gov. Rick Scott, who signed the "Firearm Owners' Privacy Act into law June 2nd vowed to appeal "The privacy of firearm owners' legislation was carefully crafted to respect the First Amendment. We plan to appeal the judge's block, and we're confident we'll win the appeal," Scott's office said in a written statement.