Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
GOP Focuses On Mental Health, But Few Shooters Have Diagnosed Illness
Bloomberg: Republicans Push Unfounded Mental Health Claim For US Gun Violence
Republican politicians from Senator Ted Cruz to Texas Governor Greg Abbott have been quick to blame mental illness following a deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that killed 19 children and two teachers. The problem with that thinking is that the evidence doesn’t support it -- even if common sense suggests a mass shooting, especially of children, is not the act of a person who is mentally well. While reporting from Texas following the May 24 shooting makes clear the Uvalde gunman, Salvador Ramos, was a deeply troubled individual, state officials have said he had no documented mental health issues. Research shows that only a very small percentage of violent behavior is connected to mental illness. (Court, 5/27)
Des Moines Register: Kim Reynolds Focuses On Mental Health, Training After School Shooting
In the wake of a Texas shooting that left 19 children and 2 adults dead, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, called for more mental health programs, law enforcement trainings and school security measures. When asked whether she would consider new gun control laws, including the banning of assault rifles, Reynolds said there isn't "one single answer." "There is evil that exists in the world," she said. "And if you're determined to do something like this, you're probably going to find the means to do it." (Akin, 5/27)
Axios: Tennessee Republicans Tell Axios What They'd Do About Mass Shootings
Tennessee's top Republican politicians are emphasizing investments in mental health treatment and beefing up school security as the best tools to prevent more mass shootings. No Republican leader from Tennessee supported firearm restrictions. (Rau, 5/31)
Politico: 'It's Straight Out Of A Playbook': At NRA Convention, Conspiracy Theories Abound
The protesters who raised their middle fingers and shouted “shame” outside the National Rifle Association’s big gathering here on Friday had assumed — like much of official Washington — that the timing of a school shooting three days earlier might somehow be problematic for the NRA.For gun enthusiasts and the Republican politicians courting them, it was only more reason to come. ... “It’s not a gun control problem. It’s a demon control problem,” said Joe Chambers, who had traveled to the conference from Porter, Texas. (Siders, 5/27)
On the trauma that follows a shooting —
NBC News: Broken Heart Syndrome: What Are The Symptoms And Causes?
Two days after fourth-grade teacher Irma Garcia was killed in the Uvalde, Texas school shooting, her husband, Joe Garcia, suddenly died as well. Family members attributed his death to a broken heart. Irma Garcia’s nephew, John Martinez, said Joe collapsed at home on Thursday shortly after delivering flowers for Irma's memorial. Doctors said a sudden death following a tragedy could be evidence of broken heart syndrome, a rare condition that mimics a heart attack. (Bendix, 5/27)
The Washington Post: What School Shootings Do To The Kids Who Survive Them, From Sandy Hook To Uvalde
The children and adults who die in school shootings dominate headlines and consume the public’s attention. ... Those tallies, however, do not begin to capture the true scope of this epidemic in the United States, where hundreds of thousands of children’s lives have been profoundly changed by school shootings. There are the more than 360 kids and adults who have been injured on K-12 campuses since 1999, according to a Washington Post database. And then there are the children who suffer no physical wounds at all, but are still haunted for years by what they saw or heard or lost. (Cox, 5/28)
Fortune: We're Living In An Era Of Daily Trauma: Here's How To Cope
With so much loss running through America's veins today (and for many days to come), one question feels particularly pressing: How do we mourn those lost and cope with the multilayered grief that's become a foundational part of living in the U.S.? Bereavement researcher Mary-Frances O'Connor, Ph.D., has spent more than two decades studying the emotional effects of losing a loved one. Her work has revealed a lesson that's worth remembering as we forge a way forward: "Grieving is a form of learning." (McPhillips, 5/27)
North Carolina Health News: Edgecombe Works To Heal Local Trauma Through Training, Understanding NC Health News
Students in the Honor Opportunity Purpose and Excellence — HOPE — program start each morning by breathing. The alternative high school, nested within Tarboro High in Edgecombe County, is led by Quarry Williams, a man who’s moved up the public school food chain from bus driver to school counselor to administrator and nearly everything in between. Once the students are settled, Williams comes to the front of the room and asks them to think of a place where they feel safe. (Donnelly-DeRoven, 5/31)
Axios: The Parents Aren't All Right
Parenting is hard. Parenting in a pandemic that has taken 1 million American lives, through an unpredictable economy, in a country where school shootings aren’t rare, baby formula is hard to come by and classrooms are political battlegrounds can feel borderline impossible. There are 63 million parents in the U.S. with kids younger than 18 at home. They work; they volunteer; they’re raising the next generation of Americans — and stress and strain are hindering them from doing all of those things. “There’s almost not a word to express the stress parents are under right now,” says Gloria DeGaetano, a parenting expert and founder of the Parent Coaching Institute. “‘Overwhelmed’ doesn’t cut it. It’s beyond anything we’ve ever experienced.” (Snyder, Cai and Pandey, 5/31)
