Before Sunset

NEW YORK, NY, August 20, 2004 -- For more than a year, gun control advocates in Congress have been trying, without success, to renew the 1994 "assault weapons" ban which is scheduled to "sunset" on Sept. 13. Sen. John Kerry has consistently supported the ban, voting for the original bill ten years ago and returning to Capitol Hill on March 2 to cast a vote in favor of renewing it.

But don't expect to hear too much from Kerry when the ban, due in part to President Bush's sidestepping of a 2000 campaign position, expires next month. That's because in recent years, the gun issue has been toxic for Democrats.

In his memoir, "My Life," former President Clinton identifies the assault weapons ban as one of three pieces of legislation that cost Democrats control of the House and Senate in 1994. More recently, many analysts believe the gun issue cost former Vice President Gore critical support among white men in rural sections of the country during the 2000 race.

This year's Democratic presidential nominee is a longtime gun control supporter with the NRA rating to prove it. But some Democratic strategists are hopeful that the gun issue will not be as damaging to Kerry as it was to Gore.

Kerry supports closing the "gun-show loophole" by requiring background checks and waiting periods. He supports mandatory child-safety locks for handguns. And he opposes giving the gun industry special liability protection from lawsuits--all positions he shares with Gore.

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But unlike Gore, Kerry emerged from the Democratic primaries without being pulled to the left on gun control. In 2000, by contrast, in a race that was taking place in the aftermath of the Columbine shootings, Gore responded to a primary challenge from former New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley by endorsing licensing by states of new handgun purchases. Gore de-emphasized the issue during the general election debates against Bush. But the dye had already been cast.

During the run up to this year's primaries, Kerry was challenged on the left by Howard Dean on a number of issues. But gun control was not one of them.