Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Gun Violence Bill Swings To Mental Health Focus, May Be Slimmed
The Hill: Cornyn Warns Gun Safety Framework May Have To Be Slimmed Down
Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), the lead Republican negotiator of a bipartisan gun safety framework, said Wednesday that some issues still need to be ironed out and warned the package may have to be slimmed down in order to get a bill passed. Cornyn said he’s “starting to get a little concerned” about the impasse over “a couple of issues that need to be settled before we can reach an agreement.” (Bolton, 6/15)
Roll Call: Mental Health Becomes Focal Point Of Senate Gun Framework
Mental health advocates are walking a fine line on the Senate’s bipartisan gun violence package framework — happy that it contains long sought-after provisions to expand access to treatment while stressing that there is little connection between gun homicides and mental illness. A framework released Sunday calls for expanding access to mental health care across the country, with gun control opponents framing those provisions as part of the solution to reducing mass shootings. (Hellmann, 6/15)
More on the gun violence epidemic —
Reuters: VP Harris To Launch Task Force On Online Harassment After Shootings
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will inaugurate a task force on Thursday to curb online harassment, fulfilling one of the Biden campaign's promises in the wake of a mass shooting that highlights a link between online abuse and violence. The group will be tasked with producing within six months a blueprint detailing actions to address the problem, including more support for victims, prevention and greater accountability for aggressors and platforms hosting them. (6/16)
The Washington Post: Suspect In Buffalo Grocery Massacre Charged With Federal Hate Crimes
Payton Gendron, an 18-year-old White man, was charged Wednesday with federal hate-crime violations and a federal gun offense in the mass shooting at a Buffalo grocery store that left 10 Black people dead last month, making him potentially eligible for the death penalty. Authorities announced the 27-count indictment as Attorney General Merrick Garland met in Buffalo with dozens of survivors of the May 14 shooting and family members of those who were slain. He spoke in broad terms about the federal government’s efforts to address rising white nationalism. (Nakamura, 6/15)
The Texas Tribune: Uvalde Lacked Mental Health Resources Before The Robb School Shooting
B.R. was 12 when she tried to overdose on Midol in her rural Uvalde junior high bathroom last year after the bullying at school had become too much to bear. The girl’s first appointment with a counselor at the government-funded mental health authority finally came in May — a year and a month after that suicide attempt. Now her family worries that the limits of the small-town system they rely on make it ill-equipped to meet the needs of children like her — suicidal, isolated and with few things standing between her and another attempt at taking her own life. (Harper and Beeferman, 6/16)
ABC News: Some Texas School Districts To Require Clear Backpacks In Wake Of Uvalde Shooting
Several Texas school districts are requiring students to use clear backpacks in the wake of last month's deadly shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde. Ingleside Independent School District, near Corpus Christi, became one of the latest to announce the new policy this week, after its board of trustees unanimously approved updating the district's dress code policy to require clear backpacks starting in the 2022-2023 school year. (Deliso, 6/15)
Politico: Matthew McConaughey Lobbies Up For Gun Push
Matthew McConaughey is not leaving his emotional pleas for tighter gun laws up to chance and the appeal of his celebrity. He’s turning to K Street too.Following a spate of recent mass shootings including the massacre last month in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas that killed 19 schoolchildren and two teachers, the award-winning actor has retained a team of lobbyists at D.C. firm Avisa Partners to represent him in the nation’s capital. The registration, filed on Wednesday, is under the name of an Encino, Calif., holding company registered to McConaughey, Barefoot Money Inc. The form also shows that the group of Washington veterans at Avisa Partners will lobby on issues relating to “responsible gun ownership.” (Oprysko, 6/15)
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The New York Times: Venue Cancels Concert Of John Hinckley Jr., Who Shot President Reagan
The John Hinckley Jr. concert in Brooklyn, an oddity that was scheduled to feature the music of a man best known for trying to kill a U.S. president, was canceled on Wednesday by the venue, which cited fears of a backlash in a “dangerously radicalized, reactionary climate.” ... The statement went on to say that although they believed ex-cons and people with mental illnesses should be able to earn a chance to “fully rejoin society,” they made the decision after reflecting on “very real and worsening threats and hate facing our vulnerable communities.” (Jacobs and Guarino, 6/15)
