Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Doctors Who Treat Gunshot Victims Tell NRA Why Gun Safety Is Their 'Highway'
It was the kind of imperious broadside that would strike fear into the hearts of most politicians. In a contemptuous tweet, the National Rifle Assn. admonished a medical group for speaking out about gun injuries and dismissed their concern by saying that physicians should mind their own business. 鈥淪omeone should tell self-important anti-gun doctors to stay in their lane,鈥 the NRA tweeted on Nov. 7. In drafting a policy statement that 鈥渞eflects every anti-gunner鈥檚 public policy wish list,鈥 the American College of Physicians 鈥渟eems to have consulted NO ONE but themselves,鈥 the NRA complained. (Healy, 12/7)
The omnibus spending law (P.L. 115-141) Congress passed in May opened the door to more government research into the causes of gun violence. Now, the director of emergency general surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore is calling on Congress to ensure new research begins. The Dickey Amendment named after former Arkansas GOP Rep. Jay Dickey has for more than two decades prohibited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from conducting research 鈥渦sed to advocate or promote gun control.鈥 (Willis, 12/10)
Students and parents are outraged after an unannounced active-shooter drill resulted in chaos at a Florida high school. Video and images from inside Lake Brantley High School in Altamonte Springs have gone viral after the incident. On Thursday morning, officials announced a 鈥渃ode red" over the school's intercom, saying that it was not a drill, according to BuzzFeed News. (Anapol, 12/9)
Documents from the investigation into the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut are shedding light on the gunman's anger, scorn for other people, and deep social isolation in the years leading up to the shooting. The documents that a court ordered Connecticut State Police to release include several writings by Adam Lanza, who gunned down 20 children and six educators on Dec. 14, 2012. He fatally shot his mother before driving to the school and ultimately killed himself. (12/9)