Less than a year after December’s shooting deaths in Newtown, Ct., it appears that outside a few Democratic-leaning states, expansive gun control is no more politically tenable now than it was before the 26 students and staff members died, reports the Los Angeles Times. The recall Tuesday of two Colorado senators, targeted because they voted to strengthen state gun restrictions, was the latest setback for those seeking to reduce gun violence by making firearms less available. President Obama, who tearfully pledged “meaningful action” after Newtown, has failed to push through even modest federal restrictions. In April, the Senate rejected a proposal to require universal background checks even though polling shows the public overwhelmingly supports the concept. Gun control is now all but dead on Capitol Hill.
Elsewhere there has been no major gun control legislation enacted outside the blue bastions of Maryland, New York and Connecticut. The exception was the politically purple state of Colorado, which made Tuesday’s outcome all the more resonant. The results underscored a truism of gun politics, says the Times: “Success goes to the side with the most passion and commitment, not necessarily the greatest number of mildly engaged sympathizers. That has long been the strength of the National Rifle Association and its allies in the gun rights movement, who helped bring about Tuesday’s vote.”