Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump Sees Mental Institutions For Troubled Youth As Solution To Shootings. Experts Say Idea Is 'Ridiculous.'
The New York Times: Opening Mental Hospitals Unlikely To Prevent Mass Shootings, Experts Say
President Trump called again on Thursday for the opening of more mental hospitals to help prevent mass murders like the one at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. Yet ramping up institutional care, experts say, likely would not have prevented most of the spree killings regularly making headlines in this country. “We’re going to be talking about mental institutions. And when you have some person like this, you can bring them into a mental institution, and they can see what they can do. But we’ve got to get them out of our communities,” the president said during a meeting at the White House with state and local officials. (Carey, 2/22)
CNN: Trump's Language On School Shooter's Mental Health Could Be Harmful, Experts Say
In a tweet Thursday, President Donald Trump described someone who would shoot up a school as a "savage sicko." At CNN's town hall on the Parkland, Florida, school shootings on Wednesday, NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch described the gunman as "an insane monster" who is "nuts" and crazy." And at a White House briefing Thursday, the President again used the term "sicko." The shooter, Nikolas Cruz, struggled with depression, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism, according to a 2016 Florida Department of Children and Families report. But having a mental health diagnosis does not mean he would become violent, many experts say. And although Trump has said he wants to focus on mental health to stop school shootings, calling Cruz a "sicko" doesn't help, those experts claim. (Christensen, 2/22)
The Hill: Dem Asks Trump Health Chief For Timeline On Gun Research
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) is asking Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar what his next steps are on gun violence research after he expressed support for the idea last week. In an unexpected move, Azar told a congressional hearing last week that he backs research on gun violence at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which he oversees. Starting that research is a top goal for Democrats on gun issues, and Markey said he was “heartened” by Azar’s comments. (Sullivan, 2/22)
CQ: Top Health Official's Assertion On Gun Research Rings Hollow
The latest national debate over firearms is taking place as Congress tries to wrap up its fiscal 2018 appropriations cycle, giving gun control advocates the opportunity to highlight the spending provision that hinders researchers looking to study gun violence. The Republican-led Congress is unlikely to change the status quo, arguing that a debate over gun control ought to be separate from efforts to fund the government — even though the bills are annually used to restrict the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from spending money “to advocate or promote gun control.” (Siddons, 2/23)
The New York Times: Another Shooting, Another Gun Debate. Will The Outcome Be The Same?
Around 2:30 p.m. on Valentine’s Day, President Trump was in the study off the Oval Office when John F. Kelly, his chief of staff, arrived with news of a school shooting in Florida. Mr. Trump shook his head, according to an aide, and muttered, “Again.” Mark Barden was visiting a playground named for his 7-year-old son killed in 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School when a friend texted him: Be careful watching television. It’s happening. Again. (Baker and Shear, 2/22)
The Wall Street Journal: Trump’s Stance On Guns Puts Pressure On Congress
President Donald Trump’s calls for changes to gun laws in the wake of last week’s Florida school shooting push Congress toward a new politically fraught debate just months before the midterm elections. For more than a decade, and after multiple attacks on students, lawmakers have shied from making any significant changes to gun legislation in part because of the influence of the National Rifle Association. (Bykowicz, Peterson and Nicholas, 2/22)
The New York Times: Major Shootings Led To Tougher Gun Laws, But To What End?
Since last week’s deadly shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla., a pitched national conversation about gun policy has dominated town hall meetings, a White House summit meeting, the annual Conservative Political Action Conference and the never-ending stream of social media feeds. Below is a brief review of several laws governing guns in the United States and how effective those policies have been in curbing violence. (Qiu and Bank, 2/23)
Health News Florida: Mental Health Experts Recommend Ways To Reduce Violence
After the high school shooting in Parkland, Florida leaders are considering pouring more money into mental health care and experts in the field released some suggestions on Thursday. The Florida chapter of the National Association on Mental Illness has been working with state leaders on solutions. (Ochoa, 2/22)
