WASHINGTON — The first federal gun control
law was passed in 1968 after the assassinations
of the Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King
Jr., and the Brady bill mandating background
checks on gun purchases was enacted in the
years following the attempted assassination of
Ronald Reagan in 1981. But don't look for any
new gun control laws coming out of Capitol Hill in
the wake of the Tucson shooting rampage.
The reason is not only the new Republican
majority in the House —it's that the Democrats
have traveled far from what was once one of
their core legislative goals.
Democrats championed gun control in the 1980s
and 1990s. But many backed away after the 2000
election, when Democratic presidential candidate
Al Gore's support for tighter gun laws likely cost
him votes in key rural areas.
The result has been an effective truce on guns,
one that allowed the assault weapons ban to
expire in 2004 and has even seen key Democrats
emerge as some of the gun lobby's leading allies.
The truce is believed to have served Barack
Obama well when he was a presidential
candidate. In 2008, gun control, once a barrier for
Democrats seeking votes in states like Virginia,
Indiana or Nevada, hardly registered as a top
topic.
That strategy is likely to carry into 2012 election.
After conservative-led rout in November,
Democrats running in red states — and there are
many in the Senate — will be eager to burnish
their conservative credentials and hesitant to
bump against the powerful National Rifle
Association.
Many factors in the Tucson rampage reflect the
availability of guns and ammunition in this
country: the suspect, Jared Lee Loughner, easily
purchased a Glock semi-automatic pistol with
extended cartridges. He went practice shooting in
the desert on the morning of the attack, in which
six died and 14 others were wounded, including
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), herself the owner
of a Glock. The state recently allowed guns to be
carried into bars, and is contemplating legislation
that would allow college students to carry
firearms on campus.
Advocates of new federal gun controls are
planning to introduce legislation, but their aims
are minimal and their expectations for passage
very low.
"We're not looking at banning all weapons," said
Rep. Gary Ackerman, a New York Democrat who
wants to close a loophole that allows some
private dealers to sell guns without conducting
background checks. "We're looking to make sure
that innocent people from all over will be safe in
their own homes and public places. I think the
tragedy and the heavy moment in which we find
ourselves lends itself to some contemplation. I
think there's a hope, at least, for reasonableness."
The argument is not likely to woo staunch gun
rights advocates in Congress.
"I believe, as Americans have believed since the
American founding, that firearms in the hands of
law abiding citizens make communities safer, not
less safe," said Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) in an
interview. "And I understand the human impulse
us to look for blame. Heartache does that. But no
expressed opinion and no public policy created
what happened on Saturday last."
in recent years, mass shootings have not have
generated momentum for new gun laws.
The 1999 shootings at Columbine High School in
Colorado, in which two teenagers murdered 13
people before killing themselves, sparked gun
control proposals in Congress, but resulted in no
changes. No new restrictions followed the 2007
Virginia Tech shootings in which 33 people died,
including the gunman.
The proposals outlined this week are expected to
have a similar lonely, uphill climb.
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J..) and Rep. Carolyn
McCarthy (D-N.Y.) both have promised to
propose measures banning the sale and import
of high-capacity ammunition magazines, like the
one police say Jared Lee Loughner used Saturday.
Such magazines were prohibited under the
assault weapons ban enacted under President Bill
Clinton in 1994 and since lapsed.
Another proposal from Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y),
the chairman of the Homeland Security
committee, would prohibit the carrying of guns
within 1,000 feet of a federal official.
Republicans leaders in the House already have
come out against King's bill, underscoring the
chamber's hostility to any measure that might be
seen as weakening the Second Amendment.
Meanwhile, the Senate is led by Harry Reid, a
Nevada Democrat who often touts his gun rights
credentials. Reid's office declined to comment
Thursday on specific legislation.
Democrats not only have retreated from gun
safety issues over the past four years they
controlled Congress, but have supported top
priorities on the agenda of the National Rifle
Association.
Recent years saw congressional passage of
legislation to allow concealed weapons to be
carried in national parks and firearms to be
stowed in checked bags on Amtrak trains.
NRA endorsements cross party lines, and as
more Democrats have emerged from
conservative states in recent election cycles, the
party has grown friendlier to Second
Amendment rights. The powerful gun lobby
backed dozens of Democrats along with
Republican candidates in the last election cycle,
spending more than $2 million, according to the
Center for Responsive Politics.
Gun control advocates say they have not found
an aggressive ally in the White House. On
Wednesday, President Obama made only vague
reference to gun safety in his speech at a
memorial for shooting victims in Tucson, saying:
"We should be willing to challenge old
assumptions in order to lessen the prospects of
such violence in the future."
It was the most Obama has said about gun
safety since becoming president, said Paul
Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to
Prevent Gun violence.
"We've been very disappointed in him," Helmke
said. "I'm hopeful that's a sign he's going to talk
about gun safety laws soon."
On Thursday, the president's spokesman
declined to be more specific.
"We all look forward to learning more about what
happened and try to explain the why," said Press
Secretary Robert Gibbs. "Evaluation of the facts
and how we got to a tragedy like this I think
requires us to look at everything."
Source: Http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sc-dc-0114-gun-control-20110113,0,4247046.story
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