[url]http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/02/01/09_gun.html[/url]
[b][size=4]How to Win the Gun Vote: A Third Way Approach[/size=4][/b]
January 9, 2002
by NewDem
There are many groups the Democrats do not do well with in elections. One group is gun owners. Gun owners voted for Bush by a 2:1 ratio in 2000. That was more than any other gap between the parties, from gender to religion. The stereotypical view of the far right is that owning a gun is every citizen's patriotic duty so they can overthrow a "tyrannical" government, while the stereotypical view of the far left is that all guns have to be banned from every private citizen.
The National Rifle Association used this issue in states like West Virginia in 2000 to convince gun owners that Al Gore would take away all of their guns if elected president. That was probably partly because of Gore's position on guns, that all gun owners should be licensed.
Positions like this play right into the hands of the National Rifle Association, which wants to turn the gun debate from a Clintonesqe Third Way, or DLC approach, of keeping guns out of the hands of those who should not have them, to a debate about the right for anyone to own guns. Democrats just cannot play into the hands of the NRA if they are to win. Some analysts also believe that the gun issue is why the Democrats failed to recapture the House and Senate in 2000.
There are some recent examples of the right way to pass gun safety laws, and the wrong way.
The right way: In 2000, voters, including a majority of gun owners, in two pro-gun states, Colorado and Oregon, overwhelmingly passed referenda requiring criminal background checks at gun shows. John McCain worked hard to assure the gun owners that the law would not end gun shows or take guns away. Americans for Gun Safety spent nearly $3 million for ads, phone banks, and direct mail urging passage of the referenda. The "Washington Post" said that the victories were "a stinging setback for the National Rifle Association."
The wrong way: Last year gun control groups in a county in Maryland barely passed a law preventing gun shows on public property. That played right into the hands of the NRA, because they could claim that the bill was evidence that gun control groups want to take away everyone's guns. What is the major difference between the two approaches? The first approach increased gun safety, while the second did nothing for gun safety and was anti-gun.