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Politics

Democrats are not taking lead on gun control

By ADAM C. SMITH, Times Political Editor
Published April 20, 2007

After the worst mass shooting in American history, the Democratic-controlled Congress is sure to push to restrict access to guns, right?

Think again. Once a rallying point for Democrats, gun control is now seen by many as radioactive.

Today's Democratic success stories include people such as freshman Rep. Tim Mahoney of Palm Beach Gardens, whose campaign ads included footage of him shooting skeet, and Virginia Sen. James Webb, who stood firmly behind an aide in March after he was busted for bringing a loaded pistol into a Senate office building.

"I believe that wherever you see laws that allow people to carry weapons, generally the violence goes down," Webb told reporters at the time.

And Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean got top grades from the NRA when he was governor of Vermont.

In Tallahassee Wednesday, lawmakers killed a bill making it illegal for employers to bar employees from bringing guns to work in their cars, but that had at least as much to do with property rights as gun control. The National Rifle Association has been so successful with its agenda in the Florida Legislature that there's little left for the group to fight for. Now, it's willing to battle some of the state's strongest business interests.

The calls for greater weapons restrictions did come swiftly from gun control groups after the Virginia Tech tragedy, but leading Democrats are responding cautiously.

"I hope there's not a rush to do anything," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said. "We need to take a deep breath."

Some of that caution, seen on both sides of the firearms issue, is because so much remains unknown about what happened at Virginia Tech. But some of it also stems from the perception by many Democrats that embracing gun control hurts them with swing voters, especially in rural areas.

Al Gore barely talked about gun control in 2000, but many analysts contend his support for gun registration cost him the White House.

The last major gun control initiatives passed by Congress were the Brady Bill in 1993, which mandated waiting periods for handgun purchases, and an assault weapons ban in 1994. Those restrictions preceded Democrats' losing control of Congress.

The Columbine shootings in 1999 helped fuel the "Million Mom March" on Washington to demand more gun control, but no significant legislation resulted. In 2004, the Republican-controlled Congress let the assault weapons ban expire.

"Clearly gun control is not the issue that it used to be. Anyone who tries to use this tragedy for political purposes does so at enormous peril to themselves," said Jacksonville lawyer Chris Hand, a former aide to Sen. Bob Graham who managed Democrat Alex Sink's campaign last year for chief financial officer. "What you might see out of this tragedy is hopefully a bipartisan effort to improve campus and school security."

Among those running for president, the gun control issue presents bipartisan awkwardness.

"Obviously, this tragedy does not alter the Second Amendment. ... People have the right to keep and bear arms and the Constitution says this right will not be infringed," said Republican Rudy Giuliani, who used to advocate a federal mandate to register handgun owners.

Likewise, Republican Mitt Romney used to support gun control measures such as an assault weapons ban. Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho, an NRA board member, recently phoned skeptical Pasco County GOP chairman Bill Bunting to reassure him about Romney's support for the Second Amendment.

The Democratic presidential contenders have stayed largely mum on the issue of regulation after the Virginia Tech rampage.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report. Adam C. Smith can be reached at asmith@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8241.

[Last modified April 19, 2007, 23:11:54]