Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
After Previous Mass Shootings, Texas Expanded Firearm Rights: 'Texas Republicans Don't Blame Guns'
The Associated Press: Texas Relaxed Gun Laws After Recent Mass Shootings
After dozens of people, including toddlers and teenagers, were gunned down in separate mass shootings at a church Sutherland Springs and a high school in suburban Houston, Texas Republicans came to the Capitol this year with their eyes on new gun laws. The goal was not to limit access to weapons or ban assault-style rifles, but to expand gun rights. (Vertuno, 8/8)
PBS NewsHour: How States Have Moved To Make Gun Laws While Congress Is Deadlocked
When it comes to passing laws designed to prevent the next mass shooting, Congress is deadlocked. Lawmakers have offered 110 gun bills this session that run the gamut from banning certain weapons and magazines to easing restrictions on openly carrying guns. With an absence of a national consensus on the issue, states have stepped up. The PBS NewsHour looked into what policies have gained traction at the state level. (Santhanam, 8/8)
The Associated Press: Ohio Officials Team Up For Bipartisan Gun Reform Push
Ohio's Republican governor and Dayton's Democratic mayor pledged Thursday they will work together in a bipartisan push for gun reforms as the city focuses on recovering from the nation's latest mass shooting. Mike DeWine and Nan Whaley announced their legislative plan while visiting the downtown entertainment district where a gunman killed nine people and injured dozens more early Sunday. They also publicly discussed a mental health initiative. (8/8)
USA Today: Walmart Removing Violent Video Game Displays, Signs From Stores But Still Selling Guns
Following two shootings inside its stores, Walmart is removing violent video game displays and signs from stores, the retailer confirmed Thursday. Stores were sent a memo that called for “immediate action” to remove signing and displays that "contain violent themes or aggressive behavior." The memo circulated on Twitter and Reddit, and Walmart officials confirmed its authenticity to USA TODAY. (Tyko, 8/8)
The New York Times: El Paso Suspect Ordered Gun And Moved Out In Weeks Before Attack
In the weeks before a gunman killed 22 people in a devastating rampage at an El Paso Walmart, the suspect’s mother called the police concerned about whether her 21-year-old son was mature or experienced enough for the powerful AK-style rifle he had ordered. In a short telephone conversation with the police in the Dallas suburb of Allen, the mother did not raise concerns that her son, Patrick Crusius, was a danger to others, a lawyer for the family said. (Healy and Mervosh, 8/8)
The Wall Street Journal: Lost In Life, El Paso Suspect Found A Dark World Online
The family of Patrick Crusius, the alleged gunman in El Paso’s mass shooting, worried he was a little lost, with few friends, but thought he wasn’t any more aimless than many others his age, said family lawyer Christopher Ayres. When Mr. Crusius discussed current events, history and politics with his grandfather, with whom he lived for a while, his ideas didn’t appear to be out of the mainstream, according to Mr. Ayres. Like many young men in Texas, he occasionally went to the gun range with his father. (Ailworth, Wells and Lovett, 8/8)
NPR: The Pistol That Looks Like A Rifle: The Dayton Shooter's Gun
The gun that was used on Sunday to kill nine people and wound more than a dozen others in Dayton, Ohio, inflicted that damage within just 30 seconds. But while the weapon might look like a rifle to many people, it's technically classified as a pistol under federal law. The AR-15-style pistol used in Dayton is capable of pouring a stream of high-velocity bullets, thanks to its huge ammunition magazine. Before it was turned against civilians, the gun was built from easily obtained components — leading to questions about America's gun laws and a gray area that exists between traditional categories such as rifles and pistols. (Chappell, 8/8)
The Associated Press: Families Struggling To Cope After Mass Shootings
Some of the victims were old, some were young. They included teachers, immigrants, a retired iron worker, a business owner, and longtime spouses. Now, their relatives and friends are struggling to go on after the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. Some funerals already have been held, and more are scheduled in the coming days. (Stengle and Galvan, 8/8)
NPR: How The CDC's Reluctance To Use The 'F-Word' — Firearms — Hinders Suicide Prevention
The nation's foremost public health agency shies away from discussing the important link in this country between suicide and access to guns. That's according to documents obtained by NPR that suggest the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention instead relies on vague language and messages about suicide that effectively downplay and obscure the risk posed by firearms. Guns in the United States kill more people through suicide than homicide. (Greenfieldboyce, 8/8)
The New York Times: Will Shootings Sway Voters? Look First To Virginia Races
At door after door, house after house, Dan Helmer, a Democrat running for the Virginia House of Delegates, found voters of both parties telling him one thing as he canvassed for support Tuesday night: Do something about the mass shootings. “I have it on the TV right now,” Reza Darvishian, a State Department security engineer, told Mr. Helmer on the porch of his home. “I’m sick of listening to all of this stuff.” (Epstein, 8/8)
The Washington Post: A Club No One Wants To Join: How Pittsburgh Is Reaching Out To Comfort El Paso And Dayton
A vigil would help. Yael Perlman would go to one Thursday evening. First, she needed to do something immediate and personal for the victims of El Paso and Dayton and Gilroy. Write letters to the families of the murdered. That’s what she could do. (Heller, 8/8)
The Associated Press: 2007 Mass Shooting Survivor Copes With 300 Pellets Of Lead
A woman who survived a 2007 mass shooting in Utah said Thursday she has lead poisoning from 300 shotgun pellets still in her body, leaving her with debilitating headaches, nausea and other serious health problems. Carolyn Tuft, whose 15-year-old daughter died in the Trolley Square mall shooting in Salt Lake City, has been unable to work, resulting in the loss of her home and business, she told The Associated Press. (Whitehurst, 8/8)
California Healthline: Dealing With The Lingering Effects Of A Mass Shooting
Veronica Kelley was working at an office building across the street from the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, Calif., in December 2015 when a county employee and his wife entered with semiautomatic rifles and opened fire, killing 14 and wounding 22. Most of the victims were the shooter’s own co-workers. The couple went on to wound two police officers later that day. (Almendrala, 8/8)
