Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Mental Illness Becomes Scapegoat After Mass Shootings, But The Truth Is Far More Nuanced, Experts Say
President Donald Trump called the Texas church shootings gunman 鈥渄eranged,鈥 the New York bike path attacker 鈥渁 very sick and deranged person,鈥 and the Las Vegas massacre shooter 鈥渁 sick, demented man.鈥 It鈥檚 a common reaction to mass violence 鈥 who in their right mind would commit these senseless crimes? The truth is more nuanced. (Tanner, 11/6)
President Trump on Monday attributed the slaughter of 26 people in a Texas church 鈥 the nation鈥檚 third mass killing in five weeks 鈥 to 鈥渁 mental health problem,鈥 saying it wasn鈥檛 a 鈥済uns situation.鈥 ...Critics say blaming mass killings on 鈥渕ental health problems鈥 is not only medically inaccurate, it is politically disingenuous 鈥 a 鈥渇ig leaf,鈥 to make it appear that Trump is doing something about gun violence. (Garofoli, 11/6)
In the wake of the massacre at a small-town Texas church on Sunday, many people are asking why. We know that a large portion of the mass shootings in the U.S. in recent years have roots in domestic violence against partners and family members. Depending on how you count, it could be upwards of 50 percent. (Fulton, 11/7)
If the purpose of a gun is to inflict serious damage to a body, then these weapons have become increasingly effective, new research shows. An analysis of U.S. hospital records shows that gun injuries bad enough to land a victim in the hospital grew more severe over the course of two decades. Wounds involving "serious open fractures" 鈥 trauma that pairs a break in the skin with a broken bone 鈥 increased by 0.61% per year between 1993 and 2013. Meanwhile, gun injuries classified as "minor" fell by 0.74% per year during the study period. (Kaplan, 11/6)