May 15, 2000

The Politics of Guns
By Tom Bevan

Guns are scary. It's what makes them such a great issue for politicians. Toss in a debate over the 2nd amendment and some highly publicized random acts of violence involving guns - like Columbine - and you have an outright blockbuster of an issue. It's the kind of issue politicians and celebrities (it's hard to tell them apart these days) live for. Yesterday, the Million-Mom March capped a weeklong tour de force of demagoguery on the gun issue by anyone who could reach a microphone or find a reporter. But despite the publicity of the march, there will be no new gun legislation in Congress this year.

Why not? Well, because the American people say so. Recent polls show Americans in favor of new gun control measures, though overall they would rather see existing laws enforced than new legislation. Does this make sense? Not really. And it is these conflicting results that have led both the Democrats and Republicans to believe they are on the right side of the gun issue.

The Million Mom March and the new poll numbers have given Democrats the courage to scuttle compromise efforts on current gun legislation and aggressively apply a full court press for licensing and registration of all handguns. Al Gore could not be happier about not having a gun control bill this year - his hopes for the White House hinge in part on his ability to demonize George W. on guns.

For their part, the Republicans in Congress are satisfied to bash the Clinton administration for not enforcing current laws. Based on these new polls, Republicans are content to weather the storm until January when they hope to have one of their own as Attorney General who will begin prosecuting gun offenders with vigilance and vigor. And George Bush's brilliant - though embarassingly Clintonian - move of offering free trigger locks to gun owners in Texas last Friday took what could have been a public relations disaster and turned it into another sterling example of his compassionate conservatism message. Even Rosie O'Donnell, emcee for the Million Mom March, had to admit it was a good idea.

And so we are left to watch in awe as the polls defy logic: sixty-one percent of women with children favor new gun control laws, yet Bush holds a double digit lead over Gore among this group. Seventy-six percent of all Americans favor registration of handguns, yet the Vice President is seen as weaker on handling the gun issue than George W. Sorry to all the moms out there, but in today's poll driven politics until the numbers start making sense, there won't be any new gun control laws making their way through Congress.

Tom Bevan writes for RealClearPolitics

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