Shooting down the obfuscation
Five myths about gun control
By Robert J. Spitzer, WashPost, Friday, December 21, 3:05 PM
Robert J. Spitzer is distinguished service professor and chairman of the political science department at the State University of New York College at Cortland. He is the author of four books on gun policy, including “The Politics of Gun Control.”
After the horrific mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14, a nation long resistant to gun control seems ready to act — or at least talk about acting. President Obama has said he will make firearm legislation a “central issue” of his second term, and National Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre called for Congress “to appropriate whatever is necessary to put armed police officers in every school in this nation.” But before America tackles gun control, let’s tackle a few misunderstandings about how dangerous our weapons are, what they’re used for and what the Constitution says about them.
1. Gun control is a losing battle for Democrats.
In his 2004 memoir, Bill Clinton wrote that Democrats lost control of Congress in the 1994 midterm elections because they had passed an assault-weapons ban that year. Many Democrats believe that Al Gore lost the 2000 presidential race because of his embrace of stronger gun laws during the Democratic primary.
But close study of these and other elections shows otherwise. In the Republican victory of 1994, many incumbent Democrats in traditionally GOP-leaning districts couldn’t hold on to their seats, whatever their position on the Second Amendment. And American Prospect editor Paul Waldman’s analysis of national elections from 2004 to 2010 found that the NRA had little success electing pro-gun candidates over those not favored by the group. Waldman also concludes that, despite its repeated claims, the NRA did not deliver the presidential race to George W. Bush in 2000.
(More here.)
Robert J. Spitzer is distinguished service professor and chairman of the political science department at the State University of New York College at Cortland. He is the author of four books on gun policy, including “The Politics of Gun Control.”
After the horrific mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14, a nation long resistant to gun control seems ready to act — or at least talk about acting. President Obama has said he will make firearm legislation a “central issue” of his second term, and National Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre called for Congress “to appropriate whatever is necessary to put armed police officers in every school in this nation.” But before America tackles gun control, let’s tackle a few misunderstandings about how dangerous our weapons are, what they’re used for and what the Constitution says about them.
1. Gun control is a losing battle for Democrats.
In his 2004 memoir, Bill Clinton wrote that Democrats lost control of Congress in the 1994 midterm elections because they had passed an assault-weapons ban that year. Many Democrats believe that Al Gore lost the 2000 presidential race because of his embrace of stronger gun laws during the Democratic primary.
But close study of these and other elections shows otherwise. In the Republican victory of 1994, many incumbent Democrats in traditionally GOP-leaning districts couldn’t hold on to their seats, whatever their position on the Second Amendment. And American Prospect editor Paul Waldman’s analysis of national elections from 2004 to 2010 found that the NRA had little success electing pro-gun candidates over those not favored by the group. Waldman also concludes that, despite its repeated claims, the NRA did not deliver the presidential race to George W. Bush in 2000.
(More here.)
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