Is Wishful Liberal Thinking Clouding the Gun-control Battle?

After a massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, in April 1999, journalists thought they saw a groundswell of public support for new regulations on gun ownership.Frank Bruni, then a reporter for the New York Times, marveled that "the earth has finally moved." He explained that the National Rifle Association had lost clout. In the Washington Post, Roberto Suro reported that polling had shifted in favor of gun control. Cities were filing lawsuits to hold gun makers responsible for gun deaths.Some Republicans started to waver in their opposition to regulation. Elizabeth Dole launched her presidential campaign by calling for new restrictions on guns. Republicans who remained opposed to gun control, the New York Times editorialized, were "out of touch with the tides of public concern." In the Senate, Vice President Al Gore cast a tie-breaking vote for tighter regulations, declaring it "a turning point for our country."  Continue reading...