Don't Expect Any Gun Control Bills to Pass: Lawmakers

NRA not expecting a fight, say advocates
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 14, 2011 7:47 AM CST
Don't Expect Any Gun Control Bills to Pass: Lawmakers
Rep. Peter King R-N.Y. gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 9, 2009.   (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg)

The Tucson shooting has prompted the drafting of a number of gun-control bills—but lawmakers don’t expect any major legislation to pass. In fact, insiders said, Congress is looking less likely than ever to step up regulation, reports New York Times, which notes that many members of Congress own firearms, and that Democrats, who tend to favor tougher gun laws, have increasingly backed away from the issue. “The fact is Congress has not done any gun legislation in years," says Rep. Peter King, a Republican who has proposed such a bill.

He’s getting "100 calls an hour from people who think I am trying to take away their Second Amendment rights," he says. The NRA, for its part, is keeping quiet on the matter: The group doesn’t expect to face much of a battle, say gun backers. "The average gun owner," says an advocate, "is saying: 'I didn’t fire any shots in Tucson. I just want to go hunting, or protect my family.'"
(More Tucson, Arizona stories.)

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