Harry Tuttle
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- Nov 14, 2003
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Politicians holster the polemics on gun control
BY MATT STEARNS
Knight Ridder Newspapers
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/politics/10979942.htm?1c
WASHINGTON - (KRT) - The national debate over gun rights, for decades among the most searing and divisive of political issues, appears to be all but over in Congress.
That means that the assault weapons ban, a signature achievement of gun control advocates that expired last year, probably will not resurface anytime soon.
Conversely, congressional leaders and the Bush administration haven't put a priority on efforts to expand gun rights.
"There's a perception that Washington is not the place to take the debate at this moment," said Saul Cornell, a historian who is director of the Second Amendment Research Center at Ohio State University. He said that politicians on both sides see little advantage in pressing the issue.
Democrats, desperate to regain their appeal to middle America, are moving away from the party's long identification with gun control, much to the relief of many beleaguered Democrats in states like Missouri.
"It's a loser," Rep. Ike Skelton, a Missouri Democrat, said of gun control.
Republicans, on the other hand, have become wary of boasting about their long and profitable alliance with the National Rifle Association, the nation's leading gun rights group.
In the 2004 election cycle, the NRA's political action committee spent more than $12 million, mostly to aid Republicans. That included $1.2 million backing President Bush and more than $1.5 million in efforts against Democratic nominee John Kerry.
Yet during the campaign, Bush joined Kerry in supporting an extension of the assault weapons ban and closing the so-called gun show loophole, which allows buyers to avoid background checks by making purchases from private sellers at gun shows. Both were popular among many swing voters.
"There is a potential for backlash," George Connor, a political scientist at Southwest Missouri State University, said of the Republican two-step. "They can't go too far."
Connor pointed out that Republicans basically have already "gotten everything they wanted. They wanted to protect the rights of gun owners and average citizens, which they've done. ... I don't think they're going to push any farther than they already have."
While Bush and many Republicans voice support for a bill that would give gun makers immunity from civil lawsuits, the bill is not a priority of Republican congressional leaders.
It's the Democrats who are moving further and faster from their previous position on guns. It's a notable change from 1994, when the assault weapons ban passed with backing from President Bill Clinton and a Democratic Congress.
That coincided with the beginning of a big decline in Democratic support in rural areas. The year the ban passed, Democrats lost control of the House of Representatives for the first time in 40 years.
Now Democrats want to reconnect with those voters.
Two new Democratic leaders, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, are examples of the party's current direction.
Reid received $4,500 from the NRA in his 2004 re-election campaign and voted against extending the assault weapons ban last year. Dean was endorsed by the NRA in his races for governor of Vermont and said during his presidential campaign that the issue generally should be left to the states.
A third national Democratic leader, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California, has long been a gun control advocate. But she also founded the House Rural Working Group in an effort to reinvigorate Democratic support in rural America. Skelton, one of the group's members, said their message to Pelosi included: Ease up on guns.
Skelton, a pro-gun Democrat who has represented a largely rural district since 1976 and received $2,000 from the NRA for his 2004 campaign, said Democratic leadership's recognition of the importance of guns in small-town and rural America was "much belated."
"Many in the Democratic leadership know that small-town and rural America is very pro-gun," Skelton said. "It's part of our rural society, and people have to respect that. I think Democratic leadership is understanding that and reflecting that obligation to respect rural values."
Skelton called Dean's stance on guns "very helpful" as the party attempts to woo disaffected rural voters.
Eric Howard, a spokesman for the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, conceded that times were grim for gun control advocates.
"It doesn't help at this point," Howard said of Reid's and Dean's positions on guns. "We do much better if more people are talking about this issue. I believe the gun lobby prefers to close off debate. ... It needs leadership."
John Lacey, a spokesman for Americans for Gun Safety, which sells itself as a moderating force in the gun debate, said the debate appears to be evolving from the extremes that once distinguished both political parties.
"You'll see an evolution where people say, `How do we keep guns out of the hands of criminals?' " Lacey said. "Gun laws shouldn't make it egregiously harder for law-abiding Americans to buy guns."
The NRA isn't taking any victory laps, vowing to keep an eye on Democrats to ensure "their record matches their rhetoric," said Andrew Arulanandam, an NRA spokesman.
"Anyone who claims the Second Amendment is now officially immune from attack because more folks in D.C. are getting politically savvy is off the mark in their political assessment," he said. "We've seen the Democrats suffer as a result of their support for gun control. But we've also seen the gun control movement evolve."
Now, the fight is more likely to be in courts and at the local level than in the halls of Congress, Arulanandam said.
---
© 2005, The Kansas City Star.
BY MATT STEARNS
Knight Ridder Newspapers
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/politics/10979942.htm?1c
WASHINGTON - (KRT) - The national debate over gun rights, for decades among the most searing and divisive of political issues, appears to be all but over in Congress.
That means that the assault weapons ban, a signature achievement of gun control advocates that expired last year, probably will not resurface anytime soon.
Conversely, congressional leaders and the Bush administration haven't put a priority on efforts to expand gun rights.
"There's a perception that Washington is not the place to take the debate at this moment," said Saul Cornell, a historian who is director of the Second Amendment Research Center at Ohio State University. He said that politicians on both sides see little advantage in pressing the issue.
Democrats, desperate to regain their appeal to middle America, are moving away from the party's long identification with gun control, much to the relief of many beleaguered Democrats in states like Missouri.
"It's a loser," Rep. Ike Skelton, a Missouri Democrat, said of gun control.
Republicans, on the other hand, have become wary of boasting about their long and profitable alliance with the National Rifle Association, the nation's leading gun rights group.
In the 2004 election cycle, the NRA's political action committee spent more than $12 million, mostly to aid Republicans. That included $1.2 million backing President Bush and more than $1.5 million in efforts against Democratic nominee John Kerry.
Yet during the campaign, Bush joined Kerry in supporting an extension of the assault weapons ban and closing the so-called gun show loophole, which allows buyers to avoid background checks by making purchases from private sellers at gun shows. Both were popular among many swing voters.
"There is a potential for backlash," George Connor, a political scientist at Southwest Missouri State University, said of the Republican two-step. "They can't go too far."
Connor pointed out that Republicans basically have already "gotten everything they wanted. They wanted to protect the rights of gun owners and average citizens, which they've done. ... I don't think they're going to push any farther than they already have."
While Bush and many Republicans voice support for a bill that would give gun makers immunity from civil lawsuits, the bill is not a priority of Republican congressional leaders.
It's the Democrats who are moving further and faster from their previous position on guns. It's a notable change from 1994, when the assault weapons ban passed with backing from President Bill Clinton and a Democratic Congress.
That coincided with the beginning of a big decline in Democratic support in rural areas. The year the ban passed, Democrats lost control of the House of Representatives for the first time in 40 years.
Now Democrats want to reconnect with those voters.
Two new Democratic leaders, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, are examples of the party's current direction.
Reid received $4,500 from the NRA in his 2004 re-election campaign and voted against extending the assault weapons ban last year. Dean was endorsed by the NRA in his races for governor of Vermont and said during his presidential campaign that the issue generally should be left to the states.
A third national Democratic leader, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California, has long been a gun control advocate. But she also founded the House Rural Working Group in an effort to reinvigorate Democratic support in rural America. Skelton, one of the group's members, said their message to Pelosi included: Ease up on guns.
Skelton, a pro-gun Democrat who has represented a largely rural district since 1976 and received $2,000 from the NRA for his 2004 campaign, said Democratic leadership's recognition of the importance of guns in small-town and rural America was "much belated."
"Many in the Democratic leadership know that small-town and rural America is very pro-gun," Skelton said. "It's part of our rural society, and people have to respect that. I think Democratic leadership is understanding that and reflecting that obligation to respect rural values."
Skelton called Dean's stance on guns "very helpful" as the party attempts to woo disaffected rural voters.
Eric Howard, a spokesman for the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, conceded that times were grim for gun control advocates.
"It doesn't help at this point," Howard said of Reid's and Dean's positions on guns. "We do much better if more people are talking about this issue. I believe the gun lobby prefers to close off debate. ... It needs leadership."
John Lacey, a spokesman for Americans for Gun Safety, which sells itself as a moderating force in the gun debate, said the debate appears to be evolving from the extremes that once distinguished both political parties.
"You'll see an evolution where people say, `How do we keep guns out of the hands of criminals?' " Lacey said. "Gun laws shouldn't make it egregiously harder for law-abiding Americans to buy guns."
The NRA isn't taking any victory laps, vowing to keep an eye on Democrats to ensure "their record matches their rhetoric," said Andrew Arulanandam, an NRA spokesman.
"Anyone who claims the Second Amendment is now officially immune from attack because more folks in D.C. are getting politically savvy is off the mark in their political assessment," he said. "We've seen the Democrats suffer as a result of their support for gun control. But we've also seen the gun control movement evolve."
Now, the fight is more likely to be in courts and at the local level than in the halls of Congress, Arulanandam said.
---
© 2005, The Kansas City Star.
