Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Under Immense Pressure Following Shooting, GOP And Trump Open To 'Small Steps' On Gun Control
The Associated Press: Trump Offers Support For Background Checks On Gun Buys
From the confines of his golf club, President Donald Trump offered support for a limited strengthening of federal background checks on gun purchases Monday while staying largely mum in the last few days about the victims of the Florida school massacre and the escalating debate about controls on weapons. (Lucey and Danilova, 2/20)
The New York Times: Trump Adds Cautious Support To Changes To Background Checks For Gun Buyers
Mr. Trump is open to improvements in federal background checks for prospective gun buyers, the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said in a statement. She said the president had also spoken on Friday to Senator John Cornyn of Texas about legislation to revamp the system that the senator helped introduce last fall. The White House stopped short of backing the bill, but the statement was a departure for a president who has focused on the mental health of gunmen and suspects, rather than the firearms used in the attacks, after other mass shootings. (Rogers, 2/19)
Bloomberg: Trump Signals Interest In Gun Background Checks After Shooting
Republicans, who control both houses of Congress as well as the White House, have long opposed gun control legislation and last year helped pass a law -- signed by Trump -- that eased Obama-era regulations making it harder for people with mental health issues to buy guns. Trump is aware that tightening gun laws runs contrary to his party’s preferences, according to the aides, but is open to having a conversation. (Kapur and Jacobs, 2/19)
The Wall Street Journal: After Florida School Shooting, GOP Lawmakers Under Pressure To Back Gun Control
Some congressional Republicans said Sunday they could support some gun-safety bills, after coming under pressure from students who survived a mass shooting at a Florida high school last week. The lawmakers couldn’t say when, or if, GOP House and Senate leaders would put legislation on the floor, an indication of the high hurdles facing gun-related legislation. Democrats said they didn’t expect any action would be taken in Congress this year. (Harrison and Hook, 2/19)
The Wall Street Journal: Florida School Shooting Renews Debate Over Gun Access And Mental Health
The Florida school shooting rampage by a former student with a troubled past has put a new focus on the vexing debate over what can be done to keep firearms away from people prone to violence. In the wake of Wednesday’s shooting in Broward County that left 17 dead, President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Rick Scott each called for greater gun restrictions for those with mental-health problems. (Gerhsam, 2/16)
The Washington Post: Most Americans Say Trump, Congress Not Doing Enough To Stop Mass Shootings, Post-ABC Poll Finds
More than 6 in 10 Americans fault Congress and President Trump for not doing enough to prevent mass shootings, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, with most Americans continuing to say these incidents are more reflective of problems identifying and addressing mental health issues than inadequate gun laws. (Clement and Guskin, 2/20)
The New York Times: In Wake Of Florida Massacre, Gun Control Advocates Look To Connecticut
In the aftermath of the rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, where 20 children and six educators were killed in 2012, state lawmakers in Connecticut set out to draft some of the toughest gun measures in the country. They largely succeeded — significantly expanding an existing ban on the sale of assault weapons, prohibiting the sale of magazines with more than 10 rounds and requiring the registration of existing assault rifles and higher-capacity magazines. The state also required background checks for all firearms sales and created a registry of weapons offenders, including those accused of illegally possessing a firearm. (Foderaro and Hussey, 2/17)
The Associated Press: Few States Let Courts Take Guns From People Deemed A Threat
The warnings around Nikolas Cruz seemed to flash like neon signs: expelled from school, fighting with classmates, a fascination with weapons and hurting animals, disturbing images and comments posted to social media, previous mental health treatment. In Florida, that wasn't enough for relatives, authorities or his schools to request a judicial order barring him from possessing guns. (Foley and Thompson, 2/18)
The Washington Post: Five States Allow Guns To Be Seized Before Someone Can Commit Violence
In the wake of massacres similar to Wednesday’s school shooting in Parkland, Fla., a small number of states have passed “red flag laws” that allow the seizure of guns before people can commit acts of violence. California, Washington, Oregon, Indiana and Connecticut have statutes that can be used to temporarily take guns away from people a judge deems a threat to themselves or others. Lawmakers in 18 other states — including Florida — plus the District of Columbia have proposed similar measures. (Bernstein, 2/16)
The Associated Press: School Shooting Puts Pressure On Florida Lawmakers To Act
The deadly shooting at a Florida high school has put pressure on the state's Republican-controlled Legislature to consider a sweeping package of gun-control laws in a state that has resisted restrictions on firearms for decades, lawmakers said Monday. The legislative effort coalesced as 100 students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School prepared to ride buses more than 400 miles to the state capital Tuesday to urge lawmakers to act to prevent a repeat of the massacre that killed 17 students and faculty last week. (Spencer, Anderson and Farrington, 2/18)
