GOP Still Committing Political Suicide

The Republicans in Congress seem determined to commit political suicide. If it was not bad enough that they kill jobs creation bills that most people want (and consider to be the most important issue today), want to cut benefits to Medicare and Social Security (opposed even by a majority of the GOP's base), oppose raising the minimum wage (which a large majority of the public supports), want to drastically cut social programs (Meals on Wheels, school lunch programs, food stamps, etc.), oppose EPA efforts to clean the environment (supported by most Americans), and would cut funds for education (which would put our country further behind) -- they are now dragging their feet on proposed new gun restrictions (and may actually try to block any new laws on guns).

Poll after poll has shown that the American people are tired of the massive gun violence in this country -- and they want reasonable new constitutional gun laws. They have already made it apparent that they will kill any effort to once again ban the sale of military-style assault weapons or high-capacity ammunition clips, and are currently block an effort to close the loopholes in background checks for gun sales. In the Senate, the GOP is holding up this plan because it includes a minor (and reasonable) provision requiring anyone selling a gun to keep a record of the sale. But even if that provision was eliminated, it is very likely that the bill would die in the GOP-controlled House.

The Republicans are on the wrong side of this issue. They keep harping about the proposed laws being a violation of the Second Amendment of the Constitution, but that is not even remotely true (as decisions of the conservative-leaning Supreme Court have shown). They also try to confuse the issue by claiming the Obama administration wants to take guns away from Americans. That is simply an outrageous lie. None of the proposed laws would take guns away from any law-abiding Americans.

If the GOP continues to block reasonable gun restrictions, they might find their support among voters dwindling further than it already has. A recent Quinnipiac University Poll (done between February 27th and March 4th of 1,944 registered voters nationwide -- with a 2.2 point margin of error) verifies what the numerous other polls have shown -- that the congressional Republicans are out-of-step with the American people on this issue. Here are the numbers (and note they all easily exceed the margin of error):

DO YOU SUPPORT OR OPPOSE STRICTER GUN CONTROL LAWS?
Support...............51%
Oppose...............42%

DO YOU SUPPORT OR OPPOSE A BAN ON SALE OF ASSAULT WEAPONS?
Support...............54%
Oppose...............41%

DO YOU SUPPORT OR OPPOSE A BAN ON SALE OF AMMUNITION MAGAZINES HOLDING MORE THAN 10 BULLETS?
Support...............54%
Oppose...............42%

Any politician running for election would love to have those numbers. They show a clear preference by the people for banning the sale of those weapons -- weapons that are not any good for either sporting purposes or home defense. They are only good for killing large amounts of people in a very short time -- which is why they are a mass killer's weapon of choice.

But where the Republicans in Congress are really out-of-step with the American people is on requiring a background check for ALL gun purchases (even if sold by a private citizen). It's not just a clear majority of voters that want to see this -- it's almost ALL Americans, including gun owners and the Republican base. Killing this reasonable law (or even opposing it) is not something that will make voters happy. Look at these astounding numbers (broken down demographically). The numbers shown are those supporting the proposed law:

DO YOU SUPPORT REQUIRING BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR ALL GUN BUYERS?

General public...............88%

Republicans...............83%
Democrats...............93%
Independents...............88%

Men...............85%
Women...............91%

Whites...............89%
Blacks...............88%
Hispanics...............88%

College degree...............89%
No college degree...............89%

Catholic...............91%
Evangelical protestant...............82%
Non-evangelical protestant...............93%

Under $50,000...............89%
$50-100,000...............89%
Over $100,000...............91%

18 to 34...............85%
35 to 54...............90%
55 & over...............91%

Gun households...............85%