- Dem Asks Trump Health Chief for Timeline on Gun Research The Hill Peter Sullivan — Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) is asking Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar what his next steps are on gun violence research after he expressed support for the idea last week.In an unexpected move, Azar told a congressional hearing last week that he backs research on gun violence at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which he oversees. Starting that research is a top goal for Democrats on gun issues, and Markey said he was "heartened" by Azar's comments. "With the CDC now poised to return to this critical public health and safety research, Congress needs to know how it can be supportive," Markey wrote in a letter to Azar on Thursday.
- More Governors Willing to Consider Gun Law Changes After Florida Shooting Washington Post by Michael Scherer and Dan Balz — A growing bipartisan number of state governors have joined calls for a reconsideration of gun laws and school safety measures after the mass shooting in Parkland, Fla., a sign that resulting legislative changes could extend far beyond Florida in the coming months. The impact of the shooting rippled through the winter meeting of the National Governors Association in Washington this weekend, as state leaders expressed willingness to consider new limits on gun ownership and stepped up efforts to address mental-health factors. But most said they were opposed to President Trump’s proposal to allow more teachers to be armed. Individual governors said they would be open to raising the age limit for the purchase of long guns to 21, a measure opposed by the National Rifle Association, or said they believed there should be better ways for family members or others to take concerns about unstable individuals to a judge and have weapons confiscated.