Democrats need a new way to frame the gun debate, because the old approaches to gun issues are proven losers.
Conventional wisdom now offers two basic choices: The first counsels
Democrats to avoid mentioning gun issues altogether. Al Gore applied this
"hope" strategy in the 2000 general election -- hoping the
National Rifle Association and George W. Bush wouldn't define him as anti-gun -- and it failed miserably, with Gore carrying only 35 percent of gun owners.
The other strategy -- vocally opposing all new gun safety laws -- is
also a loser. Just ask former Democratic Govs. Roy Barnes of Georgia,
Don Siegelman of Alabama, and Jim Hodges of South Carolina. They played
the NRA's tune and won its endorsement, yet all lost their re-election
bids.
It doesn't have to be that way. Democrats can engage the gun debate on
new terms, by supporting gun rights while fighting for tough enforcement
of existing laws and promoting sensible new gun safety measures. It's
an approach that makes sense for reasons of both politics and principle.
The political reason is that nearly half of American voters live in households
that own firearms. Unless Democrats start faring better with those voters,
they're likely to be a permanent minority party in Congress and continue
to be locked out of the White House.
The reasons of principle are equally clear: America suffers from 350,000
violent gun crimes each year, massive black marketing of illegal guns,
a broken background-check system, shamefully weak enforcement of existing
federal gun laws, and legal loopholes that give terrorists, criminals,
and illegal aliens easy access to guns at gun shows.
Based on research on voters in Georgia, Maine, Pennsylvania, North Dakota,
and a half-dozen other southern and western states, it is clear that Democrats
can be politically rewarded for taking a position that shows genuine respect
for gun owners, as well as a strong commitment to reducing gun crime.
Here is a 10-point primer on how to seize control of the gun debate, with
a powerful message that reflects mainstream values:
Argument # 1
"Americans have a right to own a gun to protect themselves
and their families."
Most gun owners are not hunters, so all the talk of supporting the rights
of hunters and sportsmen is just blather to 85 percent of the gun-owning
population. Moreover, gun ownership rates are highest among those with
higher incomes and education -- most of whom say they own a gun for
self-protection.
Argument # 2
"The right to own a gun does not extend to terrorists,
criminals, and illegal aliens."
The 86 percent of likely voters who believe in the constitutional right
to own a firearm also understand that gun ownership rights should extend
only to law-abiding citizens. Making that distinction in no way constitutes
lack of support for gun ownership rights.
Argument # 3
"We need to make the instant check system truly instant
and accurate."
That argument appeals to gun owners, who sometimes have to wait days
to clear a background check because of faulty records. It also appeals
to liberals who are rightly concerned that missing records allow domestic
abusers, the mentally ill, and dangerous criminals to get guns.
Argument # 4
"Families attending gun shows should not have to rub shoulders
with criminals because Congress mistakenly left open the gun-show loophole."
Most voters agree that our collective interest in public safety makes
it entirely reasonable for us to include a thorough and reliable background
check in the gun purchase process. But gun owners need reassurance that
the real motive behind closing the gun-show loophole is not to make gun
shows extinct.
Argument # 5
"I don't support gun control. I support gun safety."
It's time to scrap the term "gun control" altogether. The interest
groups have quietly banned the term; so should Democrats. "Gun safety"
is a more accurate term to describe measures like mandatory safety locks,
closing the gun-show loophole, and better enforcement of existing gun
laws.
Argument # 6
"I will champion New Hampshire gun values."
Respect people's upbringings and roots. Most gun owners store their firearms
safely, teach their children to stay away from guns, and overwhelmingly
support reasonable gun safety laws -- and they don't like Democrats
blaming them for crimes that occur somewhere else with someone else's
guns. Democrats should invoke the traditional values of responsible gun
ownership and pledge to fight for those values -- backing that up with
public acts, like going hunting and target shooting and forming Gun Owners
for Bill Smith.
Argument # 7
"Enforce the gun laws! We have to close the gap between
the gun crimes that are committed and those that are prosecuted. Enough
talk, we need action."
Bush understood that he should talk about getting tough on enforcement
during his campaign for the presidency, hanging President Clinton's poor
enforcement record around Al Gore's neck. But guess what? The Bush record
is wretched too. In 2002, the Bush team prosecuted fewer than 600 of the
150,000 buyers with criminal records who lied on the background check
form to buy a gun. And prosecutions for 20 of the 22 major federal firearm
statutes are all but ignored under Bush. In fact, in the last three years,
only 2 percent of all federal gun crimes were prosecuted. This enforcement
gap is a major political liability for an administration that failed to
keep its only promise on guns.
Argument # 8
"We must safeguard our rights, bring traditional values
to Washington, close the loopholes, and enforce the laws we need to stop
criminals."
Democrats should speak to rural, small-town, and suburban citizens about
their philosophy and policy agenda for promoting gun safety. Democrats
shouldn't allow the NRA to label them as "gun confiscators"
because they support background checks at gun shows. They should take
the offensive by proposing an agenda that reduces gun crime and appeals
to those in the center: standing up for gun rights, closing the gun-show
loophole, renewing the assault weapons ban, fixing the background check
system, and closing the enforcement gap through vigorous prosecution of
existing laws.
Argument # 9
"I am opposed to the extremists on both sides. I reject
the far-right groups that think gun ownership is an absolute right and
the far left that thinks it is an absolute wrong."
Capturing the political center is the key to appealing to mainstream
gun owners. Luckily, it's wide-open terrain. Republicans are widely seen
as handmaidens to the NRA, and Democrats are seen as beholden to the left.
Claim the middle ground. Reject the well-intentioned, but tone-deaf interest
groups that view any support for the Second Amendment as "extreme."
That may mean having a "Sister Souljah" moment -- attacking
a political sacred cow that is revered only in liberal bastions like Cambridge,
Mass., and San Francisco.
Argument # 10
"I support gun owner rights, but, with all due respect,
the NRA is wrong to oppose President Bush's renewal of the assault weapons
ban, wrong to support the restoration of gun rights for convicted felons,
and wrong to want to repeal the instant background check law."
Put NRA stalwarts on the defensive. Make them defend every NRA position.
Remember: More than 90 percent of gun owners do not belong to the NRA.
With the right message and policy ideas, gun issues can actually help
Democrats, because Republicans have their own problems with guns. Don't
forget, Bush moved quickly to the center on guns in the general election,
supporting the assault weapons ban, trigger locks, and instant checks
at gun shows. He may have done so out of a deeply felt conviction that
stronger gun laws are needed to protect Americans. But, more likely, his
conversion was borne out of a poll handed to him by Karl Rove, showing
that suburban women voters in nearly all states support gun safety and
oppose anyone who is out of the mainstream on guns.
Ignoring the issue, as tempting as it may seem, just won't work. Voters
already believe Democrats are hostile to gun owners. If Democrats don't
seize control of the gun debate, the NRA will.
