By KEVIN FREKING
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump's call for new "mental institutions" to help address gun violence is drawing pushback from many health officials.

Mental health experts say that approach would do little to reduce mass shootings in the United States and incorrectly associates mental illness with violence. In the weeks following the deadly shootings in El Paso and Dayton, the president has been placing more emphasis on the problem of mental illness as a leading cause of such events.

Now, in response to Trump's concerns, White House staff members are looking for ways to incorporate the president's desire for more institutions into a long list of other measures aimed at reducing gun violence.

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