Printed in an Austin, TX paper yet! A key sentence folks: "The middle-class suburbanites who favor sweeping gun control measures don't necessarily go to the polls for that reason alone, while "gun owners are always ready to vote this issue, . . . " Keep telling your pols, vote anti-gun and DIE (politically).
http://www.austin360.com/statesman/editions/today/news_6.html
Gun issue may prove to be a dud for Gore
By Scott Shepard
American-Statesman Washington Staff
Thursday, April 20, 2000
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Thousands of Tennesseans visit the gun show that Dave Goodman stages at the state fairgrounds here each month, and the discontent that many express over native son Al Gore's gun policies is sapping the vice president's enthusiasm for the issue in this year's presidential race.
"They're trying to turn a right into a privilege. They're trying to stigmatize law-abiding Americans. And they're trying to put us out of business," Goodman said.
Goodman, 39, holds as many as 80 shows a year, mostly in Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. And everywhere he goes, Goodman said, he sees gun owners who are fed up with the Clinton-Gore administration.
The gun control debate was supposed to favor Democrats this fall -- especially in the vice president's expected race against Texas Gov. George W. Bush.
During the Democratic primaries, Gore's anti-gun rhetoric was directed at Bush rather than his challenger, former Sen. Bill Bradley, who advocated registration of all firearms. But since securing the nomination, Gore has said little about Bush's gun positions.
That suggests that gun control, once a centerpiece of Gore's campaign strategy, might not emerge as a key issue this fall.
As opinion polls show support for more gun laws slipping, Gore and Democratic congressional candidates are beginning to speak of gun "safety" rather than gun "control."
Gore's scheduled appearance at a New Jersey school today, the anniversary of the deadly shootings at Colorado's Columbine High School, was promoted by his campaign as a "school safety forum" on keeping guns out of schools and churches.
Part of the reason for Gore's reluctance to emphasize the gun issue is that the National Rifle Association's strategy of advocating increased enforcement of existing laws appears to be winning converts beyond the NRA's fiercely loyal followers.
An ABC News/Washington Post poll this month found that 53 percent of Americans preferred "stricter enforcement of existing laws," while 33 percent preferred "passing stricter gun control laws."
Right after the Columbine tragedy last year, 66 percent of Americans agreed that laws on the sale of firearms should be stricter, according to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll in April 1999. But that percentage has dropped to 61 percent, the poll found this month.
"Gore can't go too far to the left on this and win the general election," said Daniel Webster, an assistant health professor at the Center for Gun Policy and Research at Johns Hopkins University's School of Hygiene and Public Health.
Gun control advocates insist, however, that gun violence will still be a major issue this fall.
"For the first time in a presidential campaign, a major candidate is advocating licensing of gun owners," said David Bernstein, spokesman for Handgun Control, the organization Sara Brady has led since the assassination attempt that left her husband, former Reagan White House press secretary Jim Brady, partially paralyzed. "We're very pleased about that."
Gore's criticism of Bush's stance on guns has focused primarily on the governor's signing of a law in 1995 that made it legal for Texans to carry concealed weapons.
Gore also has coordinated efforts with congressional Democrats to highlight a 1997 state law that bars prosecution of Texans who bring guns into banned areas, such as churches and synagogues, that haven't posted signs or handed out cards alerting worshippers of the no-gun rule.
"We can respect the rights of hunters and legitimate gun owners while also acknowledging that bullets and Bibles don't mix," said Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., who is frequently mentioned as a possible running mate for Gore.
But the success of the NRA's enforce-existing-laws argument has provided Bush with a response to such criticism.
"There's no reason for Governor Bush to try to hide from this issue, because the fact of the matter is the Clinton-Gore administration has not enforced the laws that are already on the books," said Haley Barbour, former Republican National Committee chairman and a top adviser to the Bush campaign.
There are also signs that Gore's potential for political gain on the gun issue is limited.
The middle-class suburbanites who favor sweeping gun control measures don't necessarily go to the polls for that reason alone, while "gun owners are always ready to vote this issue," said William Schneider, a political analyst for CNN and the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington research group.
Gore's history on gun control issues is one of twists and turns. While representing Tennessee in Congress, he voted with the NRA on some key measures.
He voted for cutting the budget of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and favored a Firearms Owners' Protection Act, which relaxed some restrictions on gun and ammunition sales. He also voted against putting serial numbers on guns and against a 14-day waiting period for handgun purchases.
As vice president, however, Gore has steadfastly backed President Clinton's gun control policies.
Last year, he voted to break a 50-50 tie when the Senate passed the three-day waiting period for purchases at gun shows. The measure stalled in the House, which backed a 24-hour waiting period. Most gun shows are held on weekends, and a three-day waiting period would make it hard for most gun dealers to make sales at shows.
Gore also has claimed credit for helping shepherd some of the administration's major gun control measures through the Senate, including the 1993 Brady law, which requires background checks on handgun purchasers, and a 1994 crime bill that banned semi-automatic assault weapons.
You may contact Scott Shepard at scotts@coxnews.com or (202) 331-0900.
------------------
The New World Order has a Third Reich odor.
http://www.austin360.com/statesman/editions/today/news_6.html
Gun issue may prove to be a dud for Gore
By Scott Shepard
American-Statesman Washington Staff
Thursday, April 20, 2000
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Thousands of Tennesseans visit the gun show that Dave Goodman stages at the state fairgrounds here each month, and the discontent that many express over native son Al Gore's gun policies is sapping the vice president's enthusiasm for the issue in this year's presidential race.
"They're trying to turn a right into a privilege. They're trying to stigmatize law-abiding Americans. And they're trying to put us out of business," Goodman said.
Goodman, 39, holds as many as 80 shows a year, mostly in Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. And everywhere he goes, Goodman said, he sees gun owners who are fed up with the Clinton-Gore administration.
The gun control debate was supposed to favor Democrats this fall -- especially in the vice president's expected race against Texas Gov. George W. Bush.
During the Democratic primaries, Gore's anti-gun rhetoric was directed at Bush rather than his challenger, former Sen. Bill Bradley, who advocated registration of all firearms. But since securing the nomination, Gore has said little about Bush's gun positions.
That suggests that gun control, once a centerpiece of Gore's campaign strategy, might not emerge as a key issue this fall.
As opinion polls show support for more gun laws slipping, Gore and Democratic congressional candidates are beginning to speak of gun "safety" rather than gun "control."
Gore's scheduled appearance at a New Jersey school today, the anniversary of the deadly shootings at Colorado's Columbine High School, was promoted by his campaign as a "school safety forum" on keeping guns out of schools and churches.
Part of the reason for Gore's reluctance to emphasize the gun issue is that the National Rifle Association's strategy of advocating increased enforcement of existing laws appears to be winning converts beyond the NRA's fiercely loyal followers.
An ABC News/Washington Post poll this month found that 53 percent of Americans preferred "stricter enforcement of existing laws," while 33 percent preferred "passing stricter gun control laws."
Right after the Columbine tragedy last year, 66 percent of Americans agreed that laws on the sale of firearms should be stricter, according to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll in April 1999. But that percentage has dropped to 61 percent, the poll found this month.
"Gore can't go too far to the left on this and win the general election," said Daniel Webster, an assistant health professor at the Center for Gun Policy and Research at Johns Hopkins University's School of Hygiene and Public Health.
Gun control advocates insist, however, that gun violence will still be a major issue this fall.
"For the first time in a presidential campaign, a major candidate is advocating licensing of gun owners," said David Bernstein, spokesman for Handgun Control, the organization Sara Brady has led since the assassination attempt that left her husband, former Reagan White House press secretary Jim Brady, partially paralyzed. "We're very pleased about that."
Gore's criticism of Bush's stance on guns has focused primarily on the governor's signing of a law in 1995 that made it legal for Texans to carry concealed weapons.
Gore also has coordinated efforts with congressional Democrats to highlight a 1997 state law that bars prosecution of Texans who bring guns into banned areas, such as churches and synagogues, that haven't posted signs or handed out cards alerting worshippers of the no-gun rule.
"We can respect the rights of hunters and legitimate gun owners while also acknowledging that bullets and Bibles don't mix," said Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., who is frequently mentioned as a possible running mate for Gore.
But the success of the NRA's enforce-existing-laws argument has provided Bush with a response to such criticism.
"There's no reason for Governor Bush to try to hide from this issue, because the fact of the matter is the Clinton-Gore administration has not enforced the laws that are already on the books," said Haley Barbour, former Republican National Committee chairman and a top adviser to the Bush campaign.
There are also signs that Gore's potential for political gain on the gun issue is limited.
The middle-class suburbanites who favor sweeping gun control measures don't necessarily go to the polls for that reason alone, while "gun owners are always ready to vote this issue," said William Schneider, a political analyst for CNN and the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington research group.
Gore's history on gun control issues is one of twists and turns. While representing Tennessee in Congress, he voted with the NRA on some key measures.
He voted for cutting the budget of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and favored a Firearms Owners' Protection Act, which relaxed some restrictions on gun and ammunition sales. He also voted against putting serial numbers on guns and against a 14-day waiting period for handgun purchases.
As vice president, however, Gore has steadfastly backed President Clinton's gun control policies.
Last year, he voted to break a 50-50 tie when the Senate passed the three-day waiting period for purchases at gun shows. The measure stalled in the House, which backed a 24-hour waiting period. Most gun shows are held on weekends, and a three-day waiting period would make it hard for most gun dealers to make sales at shows.
Gore also has claimed credit for helping shepherd some of the administration's major gun control measures through the Senate, including the 1993 Brady law, which requires background checks on handgun purchasers, and a 1994 crime bill that banned semi-automatic assault weapons.
You may contact Scott Shepard at scotts@coxnews.com or (202) 331-0900.
------------------
The New World Order has a Third Reich odor.