It’s no secret that New Amsterdam’s psychiatrist Dr. Iggy Frome is a “bleeding heart liberal.” His left-wing views drive many show plots including one in Tuesday's Season 2 finale, “A Matter of Seconds.”
Focusing on Red Flag laws, the finale subtly promoted gun control by featuring an unsympathetic gun owner whose firearm was taken when his wife petitioned the court, complaining he was dangerous. Dr. Frome is the court-appointed evaluator over an extreme risk protection order (ERPO) against Brendan Philips.
ERPOs are a mechanism for police to confiscate firearms from an individual if someone complains they are an immediate danger to themself or others, under Red Flag laws. Generally, firearms are seized first and later the gun owner has to appear at a hearing to determine whether the order was appropriate or not.
There was more than one twist as Dr. Frome evaluated Brendan. A gun owner who knows and advocates for his constitutional rights, Brendan is in the midst of a divorce from wife Ellie. He tells Dr. Frome he was sleeping, but awoke when he heard someone in the house in the middle of the night. He grabbed his Glock to investigate and protect his home if necessary.
Already defensive, when the doctor begins asking questions about how the divorce is making him feel, Brendan says that “has nothing to do with anything,” and begins to interrogate Dr. Frome over his views toward guns, open carry and the Second Amendment -- correctly pegging the psychiatrist as a “bleeding heart liberal.” Brendan complains his rights “are being stripped away,” and he thinks the doctor made up his mind before hearing any facts.
Surprisingly, this chastisement sends Dr. Frome reeling. He’s seen pacing in hallways and tells Dr. Goodwin, “I may be making premature judgments from a place of bias.”
Dr. Frome returns to his office to continue evaluating Brendan and opens up, disclosing an unexpected past personal history of gun ownership and hunting with his father and brother in Wisconsin.
Whether this was genuine on the writers’ part or added simply to block accusations of bias is impossible to determine. In any case, Dr. Frome praises the “patience and discipline” hunting requires and says that in spite of being a “bleeding heart liberal New York doctor,” he has “no problem with the Second Amendment.”
“I have absolutely no problem with responsible gun ownership, which is why I need you to start answering my questions. You think you deserve that Glock? Let me help you get it back,” Dr. Frome tells him.
But when Brendan opens up, the gun owner is not so sympathetic. He’s obviously angry and hurt by the impending divorce. Initially, he said he’d lowered the gun as soon as he realized the person breaking into his home was Ellie, but now he admits he didn’t lower the gun the instant he recognized her.
Brendan: “No, I just kept it there. Just trained on her, just for a second or two. You should have seen the look on her face.”
Frome: “Did you ever think about pulling the trigger.”
Brendan: “No. Of course not. I just wanted to scare her. I wanted her to feel like I felt for once ... powerless.”
On the stand in court, Dr. Frome tries unsuccessfully to prevent Brendan from getting his firearm back, telling the court he “exhibits signs of repressed anger” and “impulse control” problems. But the judge forces him to answer the actual question: Is he a threat to himself or others?
Uncomfortable, Frome tries to dodge again, saying, “I would say he intentionally traumatized his wife emotionally,” before acknowledging he was not a threat to himself or others. The ERPO is revoked, to the chagrin of Ellie, Frome and, undoubtedly, every liberal viewer of the show.
Distressed, Ellie tells Dr. Frome, “I knew it. I knew this wouldn’t do anything.” He replies (clearly wishing for stronger laws), “Yes, these laws are far from perfect, but they’re the best we have for right now.”
When Ellie replies, “Well Brendan won’t be the only one armed. I just bought myself a gun,” viewers are likely to imagine the worst and to desire stricter gun control.
While New Amsterdam didn’t steer as far left as they could have on the issue, they essentially ignored conservative and libertarian concerns over red flag laws. They trouble many Second Amendment advocates because gun owners are not given due process and there is room for abuse by aggrieved parties.
In New York, where the fictional New Amsterdam hospital is located, petitioners for an ERPO gun seizure can include police, prosecutors, relatives, roommates, current and former lovers, teachers and more, according to Reason. This wide latitude means a host of potentially biased or malicious parties could complain. The state passed a Red Flag Law in 2019. In spite of the language used on New Amsterdam, Reason explained that the “purported threat need not be ‘extreme’ or imminent” for the issuance of initial ERPOs.
