ON GUNS, DEMOCRATS SWING AND MISS AGAIN

BY JOHN HINDERAKER IN GUN CONTROL

No matter how many times they fail, the Democrats always seem confident that next time, they will successfully climb the gun control hill. This time, they certainly gave it the college try. CNN and MSNBC were all in, and plenty of Republican politicians seem intimidated. (Marco Rubio deserves credit for being willing to show up at CNN’s town hall, express his views and take the heat.) A boycott of the NRA is underway, and the bank that has offered an NRA affinity card is terminating it.

But is there any reason to expect a different result this time around? I don’t think so. Based on the surveys I have seen, Americans’ views on gun control and mass murder haven’t budged. Rasmussen finds that 39% of Americans think stricter gun laws will decrease violent crime; that’s the Democrats, more or less. But an equal number, 39%, say stricter gun laws won’t make any difference, while 15% say they will increase violent crime. (Those respondents are almost certainly correct.)

This finding is interesting, too: only 24% say they have confidence in the government to fairly administer gun laws, while 58% say they don’t trust the government to enforce gun laws fairly.

The Democrats no doubt hoped that the Parkland, Florida shootings would hurt President Trump, but that hasn’t happened, either. His response has been strong and sensible. Voters seem to agree, as today’s Rasmussen tracking poll of likely voters finds Trump’s standing rising, with 50% now expressing approval. This compares with Barack Obama’s 45% approval rating in the same poll at the same time in his first term.

So if Republicans don’t panic, I think the current bout of gun hysteria will fizzle, as its predecessors have in recent years.

UPDATE: One more thing: the Democrats have been furiously attacking Dana Loesch, who serves as a spokesman for the NRA. But she is more than a match for them. I like this, from Instagram:

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