Senate Votes Down Gun Measures, Including Mental Health Proposal
A measure by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, would have encouraged states to submit mental-health records to the nation’s background-check system. In other news, senators blast the Food and Drug Administration for its policy on gay men donating blood and the Orlando shooting has revived a debate about how first responders should treat victims at the scene of a traumatic event.
The Wall Street Journal:
Senate Rejects Four Gun-Control Proposals
The Senate on Monday night rejected four proposals to tighten the nation’s gun laws, as familiar partisan battle lines left lawmakers unable for now to respond to this month’s mass shooting in Orlando, Fla. ... Two measures focused on the background-checks system also stalled Monday night. The Democratic bill would have expanded the use of background checks beyond only federally licensed dealers to include private gun sellers and all sales online. A competing measure from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) that would encourage states to submit relevant mental-health records to the nation’s background-check system was blocked. It would also have changed certain mental-health terminology in a way that Democrats said would make it easier for those with mental illness to procure guns. (Peterson and Hughes, 6/20)
The Hill:
Warren Presses FDA To Lift Ban On Blood Donations From Gay Men
Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) are applying new pressure on the Obama administration to lift long-time restrictions on blood donations from gay men in the wake of the Orlando attacks. The two senators, who have been long-time critics of the policy, wrote to the head of the Food and Drug Administration on Monday blasting what they call a “discriminatory” policy. (Ferris, 6/20)
The Washington Post:
From Columbine To Orlando, Medics Grapple With How Best To Stop The Bleeding
In the 17 years of mass shootings and stalled debates about gun control that separate Columbine from the recent massacre in Orlando, another debate has evolved among medical professionals and first responders about how to prevent deaths like Sanders’s. It hovers over the decision in Orlando to wait three hours after Omar Mateen began shooting before breaching the Pulse nightclub where he was holding hostages and where unknown numbers were wounded. And it is an increasingly urgent focus for emergency responders, because one of the few comments experts make with confidence about these unpredictable mass attacks is that they are sure to happen again. “Scoop and run” — the idea of moving victims to a trauma hospital as quickly as possible — is a mantra of modern U.S. emergency care. Internal hemorrhage can be handled only in an operating room. But stanching bleeding from arms and legs often needs to happen even sooner. (Stead Sellers, 6/20)