Florida can start enforcing a law that restricts what doctors can tell patients about gun ownership.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta on Tuesday issued a new ruling in the legal tussle over the 4-year-old law.
A three judge panel for the second time upheld that the law is constitutional and doesn't violate First Amendment speech rights of doctors. But this time the appeals court also lifted the injunction that had blocked enforcement of the law since it had been passed.
The 2011 law, which had become popularly known as "Docs vs. Glocks," was challenged by organizations representing 11,000 state health providers, including the Florida chapters of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians.
Doctors who break the law could potentially be fined and lose their licenses.
It is likely the ruling will be appealed.
