Most unintentional shootings of children happen in homes where guns are legally owned, but not stored safely, and 70 percent of them could have been prevented if the gun had been stored safely. In its call last year to consider gun violence "a public health imperative," the American Academy of Pediatrics noted that among people younger than 24 "Gun injuries cause twice as many deaths as cancer, five times as many deaths as heart disease, and 15 times as many deaths as infections. The United States has the highest rate of firearm-related deaths among high-income countries."
    This is precisely where the health-care system can play a role in curbing gun deaths. Research shows that counseling by doctors can help promote safe gun storage—which is why most medical groups recommend that doctors ask patients whether they have guns, and if so, how they're stored.
    A new survey of 3,914 Americans, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found that two-thirds said it was at least sometimes appropriate for providers to have this kind of discussion with patients. Among firearm owners, about half said these conversations were sometimes appropriate.
    Despite the seeming openness on the part of patients, few doctors counsel people about gun safety. Their own apprehension and a confusing legal landscape keep them from asking patients about guns just like they would about seat-belts, poison control, or nutrition.
    Asking about guns seems to make some doctors uncomfortable. Most doctors don't own guns themselves, and laws like those in Florida and elsewhere may prompt fears that they're doing something illegal. (For example, the Affordable Care Act prohibits medical professionals from recording information about the presence of firearms in a patient's home, as the Trace's Kate Masters points out, but not from asking about firearm ownership).
    Patient resistance might be a factor, too: In the Annals of Internal Medicine study, a third of people said it was "never appropriate" for doctors to ask about guns. Doctors, already short on face time, might worry about needlessly offending their patients.
    "At times, clinicians may feel uncomfortable or uninformed when discussing certain subjects, and may disagree with a patient's choices or beliefs," they write. "However, this discomfort or disagreement cannot justify either offensive condescension or silent inaction."  It can be inferred from the first paragraph that ______.