Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'No Bill! No Break!': Democrats Stage Sit-In Over Gun Control
A Democratic protest demanding votes on gun-control legislation led to pandemonium in the House chamber that did not end until early Thursday, when Speaker Paul D. Ryan and his fellow Republicans reclaimed control long enough to force through a major spending bill. They then abruptly adjourned and left the Capitol. ... Democrats — who do not have enough strength in either the House or Senate to pass legislation on their own — have resorted to spectacle to highlight their anger over the failure by Congress to take any action to tighten the nation’s gun-control laws. (Herszenhorn and Huetteman, 6/22)
American doctors should join the increasingly bitter battle on gun control, the influential New England Journal of Medicine said Wednesday. The medical journal's editorial board joined a growing group of medical professionals taking side in the highly politicized gun debate, even as Democrats staged a sit-in on the floor of Congress and the Senate voted against four proposed firearms measures. (Fox, 6/22)
As federal lawmakers continue to debate a legislative response to the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, a new study of the two-decade old gun control program in Australia may offer them an instructive example. (Cohn, 6/22)
Meanwhile, a federal appeals court heard arguments in the "Docs Vs. Glocks" case this week —
A federal appeals court in Atlanta heard arguments Tuesday in a case challenging a Florida law that prevents doctors from discussing or recording information about their patients' gun ownership. If the law is upheld, the protections could influence firearms debates in Georgia. The legal battle began with an NRA-backed law meant to stop physicians from harassing patients about the potential dangers of firearms. (Hagen, 6/22)