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Why Democrats are not afraid of gun control anymore
(CNN)The House of Representatives this week is poised to pass its most significant gun control legislation since President Bill Clinton's first term -- and in the process highlight a fundamental transformation in the Democratic Party's center of gravity.
The proposal has little chance of becoming law with a Republican-controlled Senate. But the impending passage of a bill to impose universal background checks on all gun purchases, which is scheduled to reach the floor Wednesday, will mark the first time the House has cleared a major gun control bill since August 1994, when it approved a ban on assault weapons as part of a comprehensive crime bill. And while 77 House Democrats -- predominantly from rural, blue-collar and Southern districts -- opposed the assault ban in 1994, advocates expect that Democratic defections on the background check bill may not reach double digits.
- Snip -
The convergence of Democrats around the universal background check bill partly derives from the overwhelming public backing for the measure, which usually exceeds 80% support in polls. (The bill would close what's called "the gun show loophole" by including such venues, which are now exempt, in the requirement for background checks on all guns sold through licensed dealers.) But the Democratic consensus also reflects a larger shift in the party whose implications extend far beyond issues relating to guns.
- Snip -
The key to the shifting politics of guns is that Democrats from such suburban seats in all parts of the country -- even the South -- are generally supporting tougher restrictions. Rep. Lucy McBath, an African-American Democrat, beat a Republican incumbent in suburban Atlanta by stressing her support for gun control. The Giffords organization closed its election campaign last fall with heavy spending that helped Democrat Lizzie Fletcher oust Republican Rep. John Culberson in the suburbs of Houston.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/26/politics/democrats-gun-control-bill-party-policy/index.html
The proposal has little chance of becoming law with a Republican-controlled Senate. But the impending passage of a bill to impose universal background checks on all gun purchases, which is scheduled to reach the floor Wednesday, will mark the first time the House has cleared a major gun control bill since August 1994, when it approved a ban on assault weapons as part of a comprehensive crime bill. And while 77 House Democrats -- predominantly from rural, blue-collar and Southern districts -- opposed the assault ban in 1994, advocates expect that Democratic defections on the background check bill may not reach double digits.
- Snip -
The convergence of Democrats around the universal background check bill partly derives from the overwhelming public backing for the measure, which usually exceeds 80% support in polls. (The bill would close what's called "the gun show loophole" by including such venues, which are now exempt, in the requirement for background checks on all guns sold through licensed dealers.) But the Democratic consensus also reflects a larger shift in the party whose implications extend far beyond issues relating to guns.
- Snip -
The key to the shifting politics of guns is that Democrats from such suburban seats in all parts of the country -- even the South -- are generally supporting tougher restrictions. Rep. Lucy McBath, an African-American Democrat, beat a Republican incumbent in suburban Atlanta by stressing her support for gun control. The Giffords organization closed its election campaign last fall with heavy spending that helped Democrat Lizzie Fletcher oust Republican Rep. John Culberson in the suburbs of Houston.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/26/politics/democrats-gun-control-bill-party-policy/index.html
Changing demographics and public opinion have made the right-wing pro-gun stance a losing proposition due to the rampant gun violence epidemic in this country. The "but-we're losing votes" argument is not valid because we've already lost those votes to the Trump crowd, and not because of gun control.
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