The Irresistible Force of Topic A
By David Von Drehle
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 21, 1999; Page A01
Washington is once again a one-topic town. And this time, there is no disconnect with America at large.
Guns.
President Clinton began the day yesterday talking about guns. Morning brought news of another school shooting -- a high school sophomore, reportedly upset over a lost crush, wounded six classmates in Conyers, Ga., before breaking down in tears. Clinton stayed with the topic all day, traveling to Colorado to commemorate the slaughter at Columbine High School exactly one month earlier.
Kosovo? Medicare? Pushed into the shadows. The month since Columbine seems to have intensified the focus on guns, not dissipated it. Now the issue is crashing over Washington like a great wave.
Guns consumed the Senate yesterday. After a troubled week, senators voted on a proposal to regulate sales at gun shows -- and the vote was 50-50. Vice President Gore broke a tie for the first time in more than four years.
Guns tied up the leaders of the House. Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) scrambled to prevent a scheduled debate on gun control in the Appropriations Committee. They gave ground to the Democrats just to keep themselves out of the spotlight.
From time to time an issue seems to galvanize the public, and when it does, contrary to widespread belief, Washington hustles to respond. A survey released yesterday by the Pew Research Center finds that the Columbine tragedy continues to rivet the public's interest, making it one of the most enduring news stories of the decade. Support for gun control is high and apparently rising, according to poll after poll.
Guns, guns, guns, guns.
There were hugs and high fives and slack-jawed disbelief in the office of Senate Minority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) yesterday. In the immediate aftermath of the Columbine shootings, Daschle was skeptical about new gun control measures; there are a lot of gun owners in South Dakota.
But like many others in Washington, he had done a lot of catching up with the public mood in recent days, and now he had led the Democrats to victory. Enough Republican votes were reeled in to defeat a GOP gun control measure. Then Daschle's troops forced a tie on a more stringent Democratic alternative.
"On this vote, the yeas are 50, the nays are 50," the vice president said solemnly from the dais in the Senate chamber. "The Senate being equally divided the vice president votes in the affirmative and the amendment is agreed to." Republican Majority Leader Trent Lott (Miss.) quickly changed the subject.
Then came the hugs and backslaps in Daschle's office as Democrats streamed off the floor. And the amazement: Why had the Republicans given Gore such a juicy opportunity? "We're grateful to them for all the help," one vice presidential aide gloated.
Of course, there was good cheer in 1994 when the Democrats passed a crime bill that included a ban on assault weapons. When, that November, two dozen of those happy Democrats were tossed out of office, it was the National Rifle Association's turn to gloat.
The truth is, gun politics has never been simple in America, the land of Davy Crockett, Annie Oakley and Clint Eastwood's avenging .44 Magnum. Revulsion at the bloodshed is real and deep, but so is the spirit of the libertarian frontier.
And so, in the aftermath of Littleton, would-be presidents have been all over the map. Former vice president Dan Quayle, now a Republican presidential candidate, expressed hopes that the tragedy would not result in more gun control. Elizabeth Dole, chasing the same Republican nomination, came out for mandatory safety locks, the assault weapons ban and more.
It seemed the Senate Republicans would try all of the above as they lurched their way through the past week. Lott and company had passed a bill on May 12 weakening regulations on sales at gun shows. Amid public outcry, they reversed themselves the next day, but voted to make it easier to get guns out of hock at a pawnshop. Days later, four teenagers were arrested in Michigan, charged with planning to shoot up a school assembly.
Back and forth the senators went, seeking a tenable position as Democrats hounded them like hectoring sheep dogs. And then the shots rang out in Georgia.
Guns, guns, guns, guns.
The president had planned to open his day with remarks on the progress of NATO bombing in Yugoslavia. But a boy with his two guns walked into Heritage High School in Conyers and began firing. Clinton was immediately forced back on topic. After all, more Americans have been casualties at school the past month than in the Balkans.
In Texas, Gov. George W. Bush -- the GOP presidential frontrunner, who has been generally anti-gun control -- announced the creation of a "Texas School Safety Center" to "help communities ensure that their schools are places where children can learn without fear."
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) added an event to his presidential campaign trip today: a discussion of youth violence at a school in San Diego. Rep. John R. Kasich (R-Ohio) reminded reporters of a speech he gave earlier in the week outlining alternatives to gun control for dealing with violence.
It was unavoidable.
"Especially after this morning, emotions are running high," said DeLay, the House majority whip. "We are in a national crisis when we have children all over the country shooting each other."
In the Pew poll, two-thirds of Americans -- three of four women -- said it is more important to restrict guns than to protect the rights of gun owners. Even among Republicans, 53 percent put the higher priority on gun control. An Washington Post-ABC News poll earlier this week showed the same margin in support of gun laws: two of three Americans.
In Associated Press polls taken just before and after the Columbine massacre, there was a nine-point rise in the belief that tougher laws will better deter gun violence than stricter enforcement of the current laws.
Earlier this year, Senate Republicans bragged of repairing the damage the House impeachment process had done to the party. Now House leaders studied the clash in the Senate and the mood of the public and concluded they had to make some repairs of their own.
And so DeLay huddled with Speaker Hastert and leaders of the House Appropriations Committee to delay a vote on the Treasury-Postal spending bill. Why that bill? Because Democrats were planning to add anti-gun amendments. There were Republicans on the committee who were planning to vote in favor.
Anti-gun amendments in the Treasury-Postal spending bill?
The topic was everywhere.
Staff writer Juliet Eilperin contributed to this report.
------------------
Bill DePaulo
abruzzi@bigfoot.com
By David Von Drehle
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 21, 1999; Page A01
Washington is once again a one-topic town. And this time, there is no disconnect with America at large.
Guns.
President Clinton began the day yesterday talking about guns. Morning brought news of another school shooting -- a high school sophomore, reportedly upset over a lost crush, wounded six classmates in Conyers, Ga., before breaking down in tears. Clinton stayed with the topic all day, traveling to Colorado to commemorate the slaughter at Columbine High School exactly one month earlier.
Kosovo? Medicare? Pushed into the shadows. The month since Columbine seems to have intensified the focus on guns, not dissipated it. Now the issue is crashing over Washington like a great wave.
Guns consumed the Senate yesterday. After a troubled week, senators voted on a proposal to regulate sales at gun shows -- and the vote was 50-50. Vice President Gore broke a tie for the first time in more than four years.
Guns tied up the leaders of the House. Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) scrambled to prevent a scheduled debate on gun control in the Appropriations Committee. They gave ground to the Democrats just to keep themselves out of the spotlight.
From time to time an issue seems to galvanize the public, and when it does, contrary to widespread belief, Washington hustles to respond. A survey released yesterday by the Pew Research Center finds that the Columbine tragedy continues to rivet the public's interest, making it one of the most enduring news stories of the decade. Support for gun control is high and apparently rising, according to poll after poll.
Guns, guns, guns, guns.
There were hugs and high fives and slack-jawed disbelief in the office of Senate Minority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) yesterday. In the immediate aftermath of the Columbine shootings, Daschle was skeptical about new gun control measures; there are a lot of gun owners in South Dakota.
But like many others in Washington, he had done a lot of catching up with the public mood in recent days, and now he had led the Democrats to victory. Enough Republican votes were reeled in to defeat a GOP gun control measure. Then Daschle's troops forced a tie on a more stringent Democratic alternative.
"On this vote, the yeas are 50, the nays are 50," the vice president said solemnly from the dais in the Senate chamber. "The Senate being equally divided the vice president votes in the affirmative and the amendment is agreed to." Republican Majority Leader Trent Lott (Miss.) quickly changed the subject.
Then came the hugs and backslaps in Daschle's office as Democrats streamed off the floor. And the amazement: Why had the Republicans given Gore such a juicy opportunity? "We're grateful to them for all the help," one vice presidential aide gloated.
Of course, there was good cheer in 1994 when the Democrats passed a crime bill that included a ban on assault weapons. When, that November, two dozen of those happy Democrats were tossed out of office, it was the National Rifle Association's turn to gloat.
The truth is, gun politics has never been simple in America, the land of Davy Crockett, Annie Oakley and Clint Eastwood's avenging .44 Magnum. Revulsion at the bloodshed is real and deep, but so is the spirit of the libertarian frontier.
And so, in the aftermath of Littleton, would-be presidents have been all over the map. Former vice president Dan Quayle, now a Republican presidential candidate, expressed hopes that the tragedy would not result in more gun control. Elizabeth Dole, chasing the same Republican nomination, came out for mandatory safety locks, the assault weapons ban and more.
It seemed the Senate Republicans would try all of the above as they lurched their way through the past week. Lott and company had passed a bill on May 12 weakening regulations on sales at gun shows. Amid public outcry, they reversed themselves the next day, but voted to make it easier to get guns out of hock at a pawnshop. Days later, four teenagers were arrested in Michigan, charged with planning to shoot up a school assembly.
Back and forth the senators went, seeking a tenable position as Democrats hounded them like hectoring sheep dogs. And then the shots rang out in Georgia.
Guns, guns, guns, guns.
The president had planned to open his day with remarks on the progress of NATO bombing in Yugoslavia. But a boy with his two guns walked into Heritage High School in Conyers and began firing. Clinton was immediately forced back on topic. After all, more Americans have been casualties at school the past month than in the Balkans.
In Texas, Gov. George W. Bush -- the GOP presidential frontrunner, who has been generally anti-gun control -- announced the creation of a "Texas School Safety Center" to "help communities ensure that their schools are places where children can learn without fear."
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) added an event to his presidential campaign trip today: a discussion of youth violence at a school in San Diego. Rep. John R. Kasich (R-Ohio) reminded reporters of a speech he gave earlier in the week outlining alternatives to gun control for dealing with violence.
It was unavoidable.
"Especially after this morning, emotions are running high," said DeLay, the House majority whip. "We are in a national crisis when we have children all over the country shooting each other."
In the Pew poll, two-thirds of Americans -- three of four women -- said it is more important to restrict guns than to protect the rights of gun owners. Even among Republicans, 53 percent put the higher priority on gun control. An Washington Post-ABC News poll earlier this week showed the same margin in support of gun laws: two of three Americans.
In Associated Press polls taken just before and after the Columbine massacre, there was a nine-point rise in the belief that tougher laws will better deter gun violence than stricter enforcement of the current laws.
Earlier this year, Senate Republicans bragged of repairing the damage the House impeachment process had done to the party. Now House leaders studied the clash in the Senate and the mood of the public and concluded they had to make some repairs of their own.
And so DeLay huddled with Speaker Hastert and leaders of the House Appropriations Committee to delay a vote on the Treasury-Postal spending bill. Why that bill? Because Democrats were planning to add anti-gun amendments. There were Republicans on the committee who were planning to vote in favor.
Anti-gun amendments in the Treasury-Postal spending bill?
The topic was everywhere.
Staff writer Juliet Eilperin contributed to this report.
------------------
Bill DePaulo
abruzzi@bigfoot.com