Chuck Schumer told a press conference that the Democrats would win on gun control legislation. That was the same presser where senator Blumenthal from Connecticut said that prayers for the victims of shooting would not help. Other Democrat senators said that "Gun violence has reached epidemic levels in the United States."
So will gun control win the next election for the Democrats? That is the bet that these people are making. It's a strange bet, though.
First of all, gun killings in the USA are lower today than at any time in the last 25 years. Those are the FBI statistics, not just some odd claim one finds on the internet. That means that gun violence is hardly an epidemic.
Second, even though deaths by guns are much lower than in the past, the numbers of guns in the hands of the people across the country is substantially higher than it used to be. There are about twice as many guns held by citizens as there were 25 years ago. So gun ownership has spread while gun killings have fallen. Again, that is hardly an epidemic of gun violence.
Third, although the Democrats talk about "common sense gun safety legislation", they never propose anything other than the laws that are already in place here in Connecticut and in many other places like California (where the latest terror attack took place.) Most Americans can understand that it is a hollow statement to call for laws that have already proven incapable of stopping terrorists.
Fourth, we all know that terrorists will never, NEVER be deterred by gun control legislation. Neither will criminals be deterred. The gun legislation will just keep regular citizens from owning weapons with which they might protect themselves. Most people understand that.
The truth is that Schumer is wrong. If the Democrats run on gun control, they will make much of their base happy, but if they tell the average American to give up his or her weapons so as to leave them defenseless against crime and terrorists, it just won't play well.
I can't wait to see Hillary Clinton explain in the presidential debates just how gun control legislation will make us safer from terrorism.
So will gun control win the next election for the Democrats? That is the bet that these people are making. It's a strange bet, though.
First of all, gun killings in the USA are lower today than at any time in the last 25 years. Those are the FBI statistics, not just some odd claim one finds on the internet. That means that gun violence is hardly an epidemic.
Second, even though deaths by guns are much lower than in the past, the numbers of guns in the hands of the people across the country is substantially higher than it used to be. There are about twice as many guns held by citizens as there were 25 years ago. So gun ownership has spread while gun killings have fallen. Again, that is hardly an epidemic of gun violence.
Third, although the Democrats talk about "common sense gun safety legislation", they never propose anything other than the laws that are already in place here in Connecticut and in many other places like California (where the latest terror attack took place.) Most Americans can understand that it is a hollow statement to call for laws that have already proven incapable of stopping terrorists.
Fourth, we all know that terrorists will never, NEVER be deterred by gun control legislation. Neither will criminals be deterred. The gun legislation will just keep regular citizens from owning weapons with which they might protect themselves. Most people understand that.
The truth is that Schumer is wrong. If the Democrats run on gun control, they will make much of their base happy, but if they tell the average American to give up his or her weapons so as to leave them defenseless against crime and terrorists, it just won't play well.
I can't wait to see Hillary Clinton explain in the presidential debates just how gun control legislation will make us safer from terrorism.
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