Rep. Peter King (R-NY) sums up the current situation regarding gun control.
Representative Peter T. King, a New York Republican who favors a federal ban on the type of assault weapon used in the shooting in Aurora, Colo., in which 12 people died and 58 were wounded, said even lesser gun control measures had no future in Congress.
“The political reality is at this point the American people have made the decision that gun control is ineffective, that people have the right to have weapons, and the government can’t be trusted and they’d rather trust themselves with a gun,” Mr. King said.
Beyond that, control of the Senate will hinge on the results of elections in places like Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Montana, Nebraska, and North Dakota. The Democrats’ hopes of taking over the House of Representatives will be dashed if they can’t win over a couple dozen suburban/exurban districts that are, at best, mixed on the issue of gun control and in which gun advocates have more passion.
Nothing can be done to frontally restrict access to guns right now, nor would it be politically advisable to pretend otherwise.
Don’t believe me? Check this out.
Conservative pundit Bill Kristol bucked the party line on “Fox News Sunday,” though. After host Chris Wallace pointed out that there has been declining support from the public for gun control, he said he was a “squish” on the issue, and thought the Democrats should push it more.
“People have a right to handguns and hunting rifles,” he said. “I don’t think they have a right to semi-automatic, quasi-machine guns that can shoot hundred bullets at a time. And I actually think the Democrats are being foolish as they are being cowardly. I think there is more support for some moderate forms of gun control.
Another panelist said, “Good luck with that, Bill.”
Bill Kristol doesn’t have a sincere bone in his body. He’s just trying to push the Democrats into a trap.
The Democrats should also stop having all their talking heads that go on television to discuss gun control hail from liberal enclaves. What do Jon Tester, Claire McCaskill, and Martin Heinrich think should be done to prevent massacres? They’re the ones whose election or defeat will actually matter, and they’re the ones who would have to support any gun control bill if it were actually going to pass.
Gun control advocates must come to grips with the fact that support for their position is at an all-time low, and the makeup of Congress, which skews power to rural populations and small states, makes what small amount of support that remains almost totally irrelevant. At best, that support serves as a convenient fundraising mechanism for the GOP.
Don’t blame political leaders for not showing more leadership on the issue. If you want gun restrictions, you first must convince the people of this country that you are right. The politicians will follow the people. Bill Kristol understands that. So should you.
