Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
U.S. Gun Deaths Rise To Highest Level In Nearly 40 Years, CDC Data Shows
Gun deaths in America have reached a record high. Nearly 40,000 people in the United States died by guns last year, marking the highest number of gun deaths in decades, according to a new analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's WONDER database. A similar analysis was first conducted by the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence, a non-profit gun policy advocacy group. (Howard, 12/13)
After the mass shooting in Parkland, Fla., in February, Congress did not act. But state legislatures did, passing 69 gun control measures this year — more than any other year since the Newtown, Conn., massacre in 2012, and more than three times the number passed in 2017. (Astor and Russell, 12/14)
The commission investigating a Florida high school massacre heavily criticized the responding sheriff office's active shooter policy Thursday, saying it contributed to the failure of some deputies to run into the building and confront the gunman. The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission found Thursday that Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel's policy that deputies "may" confront active shooters rather than "shall" gave some an excuse for not entering the building during the Feb. 14 massacre that left 17 dead. (12/13)
Andrew Black was a blond-haired and wide-grinning 23-year-old from Vermont. He loved hiking the Green Mountain Trails, the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens and brewing his own beer. He had been stirring together ingredients for his own brews since before he was old enough to legally drink. On Dec. 6, Black walked into a gun shop at 11:02 a.m. Twenty-eight minutes later, he left with a firearm. Somewhere between 3:00 and 3:30 p.m., Black fatally shot himself, according to the Burlington Free Press. (Swenson, 12/14)
