Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'Uniquely American Plague': Gun Violence Wrecks July 4 Celebrations
CNN: Illinois Mass Shooting Again Shows Nowhere Is Safe From America's Gun Violence Contagion
Television pictures Monday of police vehicles in Highland Park rushing to help beneath a billowing American flag added an ironic, new dimension to this latest horror. It took place as Americans gathered to celebrate the 246th anniversary of the freedoms inherent in American independence. Yet what unfolded encapsulated the quintessentially American cycle of death by firearms. When a gunman killed three people in a mall shooting in Copenhagen, Denmark, over the weekend, it was shocking because it was unusual. But while Monday's shooting outside Chicago was unexpected, another mass shooting in the US was hardly a surprise. (Collinson, 7/5)
Chicago Tribune: Highland Park Shooting: 6 Dead At Parade, Suspect In Custody
On an idyllic summer morning, from a rooftop high above the Highland Park Independence Day parade, a gunman aimed down at the floats and lawn chairs and strollers and opened fire... In all, six people were killed. Some two dozen others were injured, either by rifle fire or in the stampede away from the scene. The victims ranged in age from 8 to 85. (Sheridan, Rosenberg-Douglas, Pratt, Sobol, Gorner, Crepeau, Sweeney, Crowley, Lourgos and Good, 7/5)
The Hill: Illinois Governor On Mass Shooting: ‘A Celebration Of America Was Ripped Apart By Our Uniquely American Plague’
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) pointed to the “uniquely American” problem of gun violence in the wake of Monday’s deadly mass shooting at an Independence Day parade in his state, which left at least six people dead. “It is devastating that a celebration of America was ripped apart by our uniquely American plague,” Pritzker said in a speech Monday evening from Highland Park. (Gans, 7/4)
The New York Times: A Local Obstetrician Rushed To Help The Wounded
Along with a local emergency room doctor, a surgeon and a few nurses, Dr. David Baum, 64, began triaging to help the victims — putting pressure on wounds and, when paramedics arrived, hanging intravenous drips. “I don’t think I did anything heroic,” he said. “I just did what a person who’s a physician would do to try and help a little bit.” The six people who were killed, Dr. Baum said, were clearly identifiable by their catastrophic, “evisceration-type” injuries. (Fahy, 7/4)
The New York Times: Illinois Has Among The Strictest Gun-Safety Laws In The Country, But Neighboring States Do Not
The authorities in Highland Park, Ill., said they had recovered a high-powered rifle after the mass shooting during the community’s Fourth of July parade. It was the state’s third mass shooting since Friday. Illinois has the sixth strictest gun-safety laws in the country, and the ninth-lowest rate of gun ownership, according to Everytown for Gun Safety, a leading gun control advocacy group. The state has universal background checks, red flag warnings and safe storage requirements, though no assault weapons ban. (Hassan, 7/4)
And from Philadelphia —
Newsweek: Philadelphia July 4th Shooting Videos Go Viral: 'America Is A Horror Movie'
At the close of Independence Day celebrations in Philadelphia, masses of people gathered to watch fireworks. But the celebrations were marred when two police officers working security were shot near the Philadelphia Museum of Art at around 9:50 p.m. local time. The gunfire prompted a stampede on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, with videos on social media capturing the panic as people ran for blocks in all directions in an effort to flee the violence. (Rahman, 7/5)
Fox News: Philadelphia Shooting: Democrat Mayor Rips Second Amendment, Says Only The Police Should Have Guns
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney suggested the Second Amendment and the United States Supreme Court were too lenient when it came to gun rights, following a shooting that injured two police officers near a Fourth of July event on Monday night. Standing outside the hospital where the two police officers were treated for gunshot injuries, Kenney told a group of reporters that only police officers should be allowed to own guns and that he is looking forward to retiring, so he no longer has to deal with gun violence. (Richard, 7/5)
Also —
Bloomberg: New York To Ban Guns In Most Public Places To Block Court Ruling
New York lawmakers on Friday passed gun legislation that would severely limit where guns can be carried and require background checks to buy ammunition. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) negotiated the legislation with leaders and said she would sign quickly. The bill is almost certain to draw a lawsuit. (Clukey, 7/2)
The Washington Post: Trauma Physicians Have Become Depressingly Prepared For Mass Shootings
“As we have said repeatedly since declaring gun violence a public health crisis in 2016, gun violence is out of control in the United States, and, without real-world, common-sense federal actions, it will not abate,” American Medical Association president Gerald Harmon said in a recent statement alongside the group’s latest letter to members of Congress. (Anders, 7/4)
