Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
When Background Checks Fail, Job Of Taking Guns From People Who Aren't Supposed To Have Them Falls To An Understaffed ATF
The Wall Street Journal: Armed And Dangerous: How The ATF Retrieves Guns From Banned Buyers
Michael Alan Chance Green, who worked on a ranch as a cowboy, was obsessed with professional wrestler and entertainer Terry Funk. He believed he had to warn him of imminent danger and delivered bizarre handwritten letters to Mr. Funk’s mailbox, until he was charged with stalking. A Texas judge hearing the case declared Mr. Green mentally incompetent and committed him to a state hospital. More than a decade later, in 2016, Mr. Green bought a single-shot rifle at a North Texas gun store. A mandatory federal background check failed to discover in time that he was barred from buying or owning a firearm because of his mental-health troubles. (Frosch and Elinson, 2/19)
The San Francisco Chronicle: California Struggles To Seize Guns From People Who Shouldn’t Have Them
California has struggled to enforce a unique state law that allows officials to seize guns from people with criminal convictions or mental health problems, leaving firearms in the hands of thousands of people legally barred from owning them. Legislators first took notice of the problem in 2013, after the gun massacre of 20 children and six adults at a Connecticut elementary school, and set aside $24 million to reinvigorate the firearms-seizure program. (Koseff, 2/18)
The Wall Street Journal: Companies Roll Out Gunshot Detectors At The Office
Corporate executives worried about workplace shootings are quietly installing gunfire-detection systems in U.S. offices and factories. Most don’t tell employees what the sensors are, for fear of alarming them. The rapid uptick in adoption of gunshot sensors follows a wave of workplace shootings in the past year. The latest occurred Friday when a man opened fire at an Aurora, Ill., factory following his termination, killing five co-workers and injuring five police officers. Deadly incidents in recent months include shootings at the California headquarters of YouTube, in the lobby of Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati, at a Maryland newspaper and in a Florida hot-yoga studio. (Cutter, 2/19)
