To Prevent Suicides, Gun Bill Would Let Coloradans Join ‘Do Not Sell’ Registry
The legislation would allow people experiencing mental health struggles to temporarily restrict themselves from purchasing firearms. If passed, Colorado would become the fifth state to implement such a registry. Plus: News from Florida, Texas, New York, California, and Maine.
The Colorado Sun:
Colorado Is Likely To Create "Do Not Sell" Registry To Prevent Suicides By Firearm
A proposal making its way through the state legislature would let Coloradans place a voluntary freeze on gun sales to themselves. The measure, Senate Bill 34, would make Colorado the fifth state to set up a so-called do not sell registry. If approved, Coloradans could add their names to the registry through an online portal. (Sisk, 2/10)
In other health news from across the U.S. —
Newsweek:
Florida Removes 1.3m People From Health Care Plan
Over one million Floridians have had their health insurance revoked as a result of a nationwide disenrollment from coverage that was previously safeguarded as part of the COVID-19 pandemic response. Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrolment in Florida has fallen from 5.1 million to 3.8 million between March 2023 and October 2024, according to health care research non-profit the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). (Cameron, 2/9)
The Texas Tribune:
Judge Blocks More Provisions Of Texas Social Media Law
A federal district court on Friday has issued more temporary blocks on provisions of a Texas law designed to restrict what kinds of materials and advertisements minors can see on social media and age verification requirements. (Runnels, 2/7)
The New York Times:
A Sick Inmate In New York Is Freed After Suing Over Parole Delay
A sick man was released from a New York prison on Friday after suing the state for keeping him long past his parole date. Steve Coleman, who is 67 and has advanced kidney disease, was granted parole in 2023 after serving 43 years for murder. But he remained incarcerated for 21 more months because the Department of Corrections could not find a nursing home to accommodate his dialysis care. (Kliff, 2/7)
The New York Times:
A California Battery Plant Burned. Residents Have Gotten Sick, And Anxious
Last month, a battery-storage plant went up in flames and burned for days, prompting the evacuation of more than 1,000 residents and shutting down local schools. The plant, located in Moss Landing, an unincorporated community in Monterey County, is the largest facility in the world that uses lithium-ion batteries to store energy. Residents have reported feeling ill, and many of them worry that the fire polluted the air, soil and water with toxins. (Mayorquín, 2/10)
Native News Online:
‘I Came Back To My Culture, And I Healed.’
As Maine's tribes confront an addiction crisis, Wabanaki Public Health & Wellness pioneers a treatment model that returns cultural practices to the heart of addiction recovery. (Wild, 2/7)
NBC News:
Woman’s Family Files Lawsuit Seeking To Halt Sales Of Galaxy Gas After Her Death
Nitrous oxide sold in colorful tanks with candy-like flavors that consumers are inhaling to get high must be removed from shelves because it is creating a “veritable national health crisis,” a new lawsuit alleges. (Chuck, 2/7)
