Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Attorney General Takes Congressional Republicans' Temperature On Background Checks As Part Of Gun Control Plan
The Wall Street Journal: Attorney General Probes Support For Gun Background Checks On Capitol Hill
Attorney General William Barr is gauging support among lawmakers for a plan to expand gun background checks, signaling that the administration hasn’t dismissed a significant tightening of gun rules, though President Trump hasn’t indicated what he will endorse. Mr. Barr spent several days on Capitol Hill this week with White House legislative affairs director Eric Ueland floating a plan requiring background checks for all commercial gun sales, including at events such as gun shows where buyers currently can largely avoid them. (Gurman, Andrews and Lucey, 9/18)
CNN: Proposal To Expand Background Checks Floated On Hill But Trump Has Yet To Sign Off On It Or Any Other Gun Plan
The pitch -- outlined in a document that was obtained by CNN -- would expand background checks to all advertised commercial sales, though it's not clear whether it would pass muster with lawmakers. The White House on Wednesday made clear that President Donald Trump had not signed off on any plan, and GOP leaders have indicated they are awaiting word from Trump before taking action. (Shortell, Fox, Foran and Barrett, 9/18)
The Daily Caller: Here’s The Document The White House, Barr Are Using To Push Gun Control On Republicans
The Daily Caller obtained a copy of an idea sheet circulating among Republican members, which indicates that the legislation in question would expand background checks to include all commercially advertised unlicensed sales. (Athey, 9/18)
NBC News: Justice Department Circulating Proposal To Expand Background Checks
A Justice Department official confirmed the agency had drafted the background check proposal. “The President has not signed off on anything yet but has been clear he wants meaningful solutions that actually protect the American people and could potentially prevent these tragedies from ever happening again,” White House spokesman Hogan Gidley, who emphasized the document wasn’t from the White House, said in a statement. (Pettypiece, Thorp and Caldwell, 9/18)
Politico: Leaked Background Check Plan Sows Chaos On Hill
“You don’t need to worry about what’s floating around,” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said. “We aren’t going to do anything that the president isn’t going to sign anyway. ”When asked about the proposal, Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) first asked whether Trump publicly endorsed it as his own. “Once the president does, I’ll look forward to reviewing it,” Young said. (Levine and Everett, 9/18)
Axios: Trump Testing GOP Appetite For Background Checks
Why it matters: The president was expected to say this week what, if any, gun control legislation he is prepared to support. Advocates were doubtful he would support expanded background checks because polling suggested it could hurt his standing with core supporters. (Treene, 9/18)
In other news on gun violence —
The New York Times: With Harrowing Ads, Gun Safety Groups Push A Scarier Reality
Going back to school means worrying about what to wear, deciding what classes to take and, increasingly, knowing what to do if someone appears on campus with a gun. This reality in American classrooms is reflected in a harrowing ad being released on Wednesday from Sandy Hook Promise, a gun safety advocacy group created after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., in 2012. (Hsu, 9/18)
CNN: The Racial Politics Of Gun Control
When Americans talk about guns, what's arguably most interesting isn't what we say about the devices themselves. It's what we betray about whose voices -- and lives -- matter when it comes to our country's virulent gun culture. Indeed, the heartbreaking permanence of the school shooting reality is undeniable when watching Sandy Hook Promise's wrenching new back-to-school PSA, which forces viewers to come to grips with present-day America for school children. (Tensley, 9/18)
Dallas Morning News: Texas Mass Shooting Survivor Lobbies Congress For Less Gun Control
Since surviving a 1991 mass shooting at a Luby's in Killeen, Suzanna Gratia Hupp has lobbied for looser gun control laws that she says could have allowed her to save the 23 victims, including both of her parents. "I reached for the gun in my purse on the floor next to me," Hupp told a congressional committee Wednesday during a hearing on the economic costs of gun violence. She recounted the moments after the killer, George Hennard, crashed his pickup into the restaurant where she was eating with her parents and opened fire. "But then I realized that a few months earlier I had made the stupidest decision of my life. My gun was 100 yards away, dutifully left in my car to obey the law because at that time in the state of Texas, carrying a handgun was illegal." (Cobler, 9/18)
