Rampage may not influence ‘08 presidential race
By David Alexander
Tue Apr 17, 4:03 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history may have little impact on the 2008 presidential race because most top candidates already favor gun controls and are unlikely to gain by pushing the issue.
Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton won a worst-possible F- rating from the Gun Owners of America, but it was scathing about Republican Rudy Giuliani as well. Other main candidates have not endeared themselves to gun groups, although some have tried to soften their image.
“Most of the leading candidates have a history of being pro-gun control,” said Robert Cottrol, a law professor at George Washington University and an expert on gun issues. “Certainly it’s true of the three leading candidates in the Democratic Party. And it’s also true of Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney in the Republican Party.”
But few candidates have wanted to aggressively tackle the issue since Al Gore lost the presidency in 2000 partly because of his gun control stance that analysts said tipped key swing states to Republican George W. Bush.
About one-third of U.S. households reported having a gun, according to a 2001 government survey.
Even before the massacre of 32 people at Virginia Tech, officials of the National Rifle Association gun lobby, used to the friendly policies of Bush, were expressing concern about candidates for the 2008 election.
In response to the Virginia Tech killings, the country’s leading gun groups adopted different strategies.
The NRA expressed condolences to the victims’ families but said it would have no further comment “until all of the facts are known.”
ON THE ATTACK
The second-largest group, the Gun Owners of America, went on the attack and argued if students or faculty had been allowed to carry guns on campus, they might have been able to stop the killer.
“The latest school shooting at Virginia Tech demands an immediate end to the gun-free zone law, which leaves the nation’s schools at the mercy of madmen,” said Larry Pratt, the director. “It is irresponsibly dangerous to tell citizens that they may not have guns at schools.”
The massacre at Virginia Tech ignited fresh talk in the Democratic-led U.S. Congress about tightening gun laws, yet it was unclear if lawmakers would step up to it with 2008 elections looming.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (voting record), a Nevada Democrat, cautioned patience. “I hope there’s not a rush to do anything. We need to take a deep breath,” he said.
The 2008 presidential candidates expressed sorrow for the Virginia Tech deaths, but had little to say on gun control.
Cottrol said the candidates were unlikely to push the gun issue unless “they perceive it to be something of a political winner, which at least to this point they have not.”
But the leading candidates have records on the issue. Among Democrats, voting record) voted against a law that sought to ban lawsuits against gun makers, the Web site OnTheIssues.org said.
The top Republican candidates also have supported some gun control measures, but before the shootings some had begun softening their positions. Giuliani told Fox news that laws appropriate for New York might not be good for rural areas.
Romney, who recently joined the NRA, claimed to be a lifelong hunter, a statement roundly ridiculed after the Associated Press discovered he had never been issued a hunting license. Romney was forced to admit he had hunted only twice.
