There was an interesting Washington minuet on guns this week. In the end, nobody got anything. But we learned a great deal along the way.
We learned that a majority in the Senate is in favor of extending the 10-year-old ban on the manufacture and importation of semi-automatic assault weapons. That ban is set to expire on Sept. 13, less than two months before the presidential election.
We learned that a Senate majority also approves of a proposal to close the so-called gun show loophole, which allows unlicensed dealers to sell guns at such shows without checking the background of buyers.
It’s very telling that, even though public attention to gun violence has probably waned as we near the fifth anniversary of the horrific shootings at Columbine High School, there is still support in Washington, in a Senate under Republican control, for reasonable gun restrictions. The assault weapon and gun show proposals came in the form of amendments to a bill that would carve out special immunity from lawsuits for gunmakers, distributors and sellers.
In the end, the Senate rejected the entire bill by a whopping margin. Each side in the debate preferred to gain nothing, rather than give the other side something. The pro-gun crowd couldn’t stomach the idea of continuing the assault weapon ban. Those who favor gun control were relieved to see the immunity bill die. That onerous measure was designed to undermine lawsuits such as one filed by the City of Chicago alleging that marketing practices of the gun industry had flooded the city with banned guns.
So now the question is, will everyone be satisfied with nothing? They shouldn’t be.
As a candidate, President Bush said he favored the assault weapon ban. During a debate with Al Gore, he told voters, “I support instant background checks at gun shows.” If he were true to his word, he would have gladly accepted those provisions as part of an immunity bill.
They are vitally important. Illinois has tighter restrictions on gun shows because it requires a Firearm Owners ID card for any purchase of guns. But the ten states that are the leading source for guns used in crimes in Illinois–Indiana, Mississippi, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, Georgia, Arkansas, Alabama and Ohio–have failed to close the gun show loophole.
In the crucial days last week as the Senate took up the gun issue, though, the White House issued a devastating statement. It called any amendments to the lawsuits measure “unacceptable.” Its only priority was to hand immunity to the gun industry.
The White House decided it was a better political bet to sink the legislation. But from here, that looks like bad politics. Democratic leaders may not be as vocal on gun control as they once were, but by all signs the public support for these gun restrictions has not flagged. They deserve their own votes in Congress–and Bush’s support.
