Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Victims' Families, Survivors Of Maine Mass Shooting Sue US Government
Survivors of Maine’s deadliest mass shooting and relatives of victims are suing the federal government, alleging that the U.S. Army could and should have stopped one of its reservists from carrying out what they call “one of the most preventable mass tragedies in American history.” (Whittle and Ramer, 9/3)
President Donald Trump suggested Tuesday that teachers who previously served as “distinguished” military service members should be able to carry weapons at schools in the event of a shooting. The president’s statement comes less than a week after the deadly mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and its affiliated school in Minneapolis. "We have great teachers that love our children," Trump said in the Oval Office during a Space Force-related announcement. "If you took a small percentage of those teachers that were in the military, that were distinguished in the military, that were in the National Guard ... and you let them carry, that's something that a lot of people like. I sort of liked it." (Zimmermann, 9/2)
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz plans to call a special legislative session to consider tougher gun laws following a shooting last week at a Catholic school in Minneapolis that left two children dead and 21 people injured. The Democrat told reporters Tuesday, after welcoming children back to a public school in the Minneapolis suburb of Eagan, that he’ll be making calls to lawmakers and working on a plan over the next couple of days. Walz said he intends to propose a “very comprehensive” package that could include an assault-weapons ban. (Karnowski, 9/3)
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s top health official, suggested Thursday that psychiatric drugs may have played a role in the Minnesota Catholic school shooting — a statement widely criticized as unsupported by science. During an appearance on “Fox & Friends,” co-host Brian Kilmeade asked Kennedy whether the government was investigating the role of medications that treat gender dysphoria in crimes such as this one. (Eunjung Cha, 8/29)
One of Colorado’s newest and most restrictive gun-control measures is facing a federal lawsuit from the Colorado State Shooting Association, the state’s official National Rifle Association group. (Woods, 9/2)
The Seattle City Attorney’s Office has filed a lawsuit against gun manufacturer Glock, alleging the design of its handguns makes them vulnerable to illegal modifications that allow fully-automatic gunfire. City Attorney Ann Davison says illegal devices known as ‘Glock Switches’ are responsible for a dramatic rise in the number of shots being fired in Seattle. (Harris, 9/2)