FSU Students Urge Lawmakers Against Lowering Gun-Buying Age

AP: Following FSU Shooting, Students Call On Lawmakers To Block Effort To Lower Gun-Buying Law
Student survivors of last week’s deadly shooting at Florida State University urged state legislators Tuesday to block an effort to reverse a law passed after the 2018 Parkland school shooting that raised the state’s gun-buying age from 18 to 21. Days after a gunman terrorized the university in the state capital of Tallahassee, students traveled to the Capitol to call on lawmakers to take action to protect them from gun violence. (Payne, 4/22)

In related news about gun violence —

WUFT: Overexposure To Violence Linked To Desensitization, American Academy Of Pediatrics Says
Tragedies like the COVID pandemic, and the Sandy Hook and Parkland school shootings are events that affected so many people, especially Generation Z. With the easy accessibility of social media, Gen Z is becoming more desensitized to devastation. (Schiffer, 4/22)

In other health news from across the U.S. —

The Texas Tribune: Data: Millions Spent In Texas Hospitals On Non-Citizens 
Preliminary data shows that “tens of thousands” of patients who were not “lawfully” in the United States were treated by Texas hospitals in recent months and the cost for their care is in the millions of dollars, according to a state employee testifying before lawmakers late Monday. (Langford, 4/21)

AP: Nebraska Bill To Ban Transgender Students From The Bathrooms And Sports Of Their Choice Advances
A Nebraska bill that would bar transgender students from bathrooms, locker rooms and sports teams that correspond with their gender identity has advanced from the first of three rounds of debate — but with a caveat. Sen. Merv Riepe, who helped tank an effort to pass a similar bill last year, agreed Tuesday to provide the 33rd vote needed to break a filibuster against the bill. But only if the bill’s sponsor agrees to support his amendment to remove language that would ban bathroom and locker room use, leaving only the ban on sports participation. That amendment will be introduced in the next round of debate, Riepe said. (Beck, 4/23)

AP: Minnesota Attorney General Files Preemptive Lawsuit Against Trump On Transgender Sports Ban
Democratic Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a preemptive lawsuit Tuesday against Republican President Donald Trump seeking to block his administration from acting against Minnesota in the way it’s taking on Maine under a federal push to ban transgender athletes from girls and women’s sports. “Minnesota brings this lawsuit to stop President Trump and his administration from bullying vulnerable children in this state,” Ellison said at a news conference, quoting the opening line from the lawsuit naming Trump and his attorney general, Pam Bondi. (Karnowski, 4/22)

CBS News: Minnesota Lawmakers Debate Over Healthcare For Undocumented Residents
Applications for free state health care by undocumented Minnesota residents are exceeding expectations. Applications are three times higher than lawmakers expected in the first year. Some lawmakers are pushing back on the free state health care expansion. "This program creates an incentive for illegal immigrants to come to Minnesota," Sen. Jordan Rasmusson, R-Fergus Falls, said. (Murphy, 4/21)

North Carolina Health News: Changes In Store For NC Dental Profession
Shital Patel became a widow almost five years ago after she took her husband, an admired cardiologist, to a Wilmington dentist for what she was told would be a routine dental implant procedure. Hemant “Henry” Patel, nicknamed “Ninja” in the electrophysiology lab because of his ability to tackle complex challenges, died on Aug. 3, 2020, after complications arose during the administration of anesthesia while he was in the dental chair, causing his brain to be deprived of oxygen for too long. (Blythe, 4/22)