Gun Control Movement Changes Approach

By Dan Eggen and Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, March 28, 2001; Page A12


Twenty years after James Brady was shot in the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan, the modern gun control movement spearheaded by him and his wife, Sarah, is in retreat.

Amid gloomy developments for advocates of gun restrictions, the Bradys' group, Handgun Control Inc., and its allies have lowered their expectations for Washington. They have turned instead to states and cities considered more receptive to stronger regulation of handguns.

They are also scrambling to stop or rescind laws backed by the National Rifle Association and other pro-gun groups at the state and local levels, including those making it easier to carry concealed weapons.

The shift comes less than a year after gun control advocates seemed to be gaining momentum with the heralded Million Mom March and a landmark agreement on safety standards with gunmaker Smith & Wesson.

But Republicans now in command at the White House and in Congress generally oppose new gun control measures. The agreement with Smith & Wesson has effectively fallen apart in the face of boycotts by angry gun dealers and customers that have hurt the company.

As for the Million Mom March, the organization just laid off 30 of its 35 employees. The group's protests on this Mother's Day will be centered in state capitals instead of on the Mall in Washington.

"Everybody knows we're not likely to have big successes at the federal level," said Kristen Rand, legislative director of the Violence Policy Center, commonly viewed as one of the most aggressive anti-gun groups. "The lay of the land today is, if we don't lose anything on the federal level, we're in good shape, and hopefully we'll make some strides in some key states while we're at it. We have to be realistic."

The climate is a marked departure from the Clinton years, which brought a federal ban on assault weapons and enactment of background checks for handgun purchases as part of the long-sought Brady law.

This year, however, the NRA and other gun lobbyists say they are confident they can again derail proposals for similar background checks at gun shows. In addition, the groups hope the Bush administration will support a nationwide ban on state and municipal lawsuits against gun manufacturers -- similar to legislation signed by Bush when he was governor of Texas.

"Right now, the pendulum might have swung back in our direction," said James Jay Baker, chief lobbyist for the NRA. "The Democratic leadership decided they were going to make this a national issue, and they took it too far. . . . I'm hopeful that we will gain some ground."

Sarah Brady, who will preside at a news conference today commemorating her group's victories over the last 20 years, said she hasn't given up on federal legislation. James Brady was critically wounded in the attempt on Reagan's life on March 30, 1981.

"Given the leadership in the House and the Senate and the White House, it is not the easiest place right now in Washington," Sarah Brady said yesterday. "Certainly it's going to be an uphill battle. But we've had a lot of uphill battles, and that's generally when we've been able to do our very best."

Some of the hottest battles are being waged in the states.

New York recently adopted a gun tracking system and background checks at gun shows, and lawmakers in California, Illinois, Iowa, Rhode Island and other states are debating similar new regulations. The NRA is reviving a proposal in Missouri to allow easier access to concealed weapons permits, and gun control advocates are mounting a referendum drive in Michigan to undo a similar law there.

The Center to Prevent Handgun Violence, an arm of Brady's group, launched a drive this month to persuade 20 states to follow the lead of the Massachusetts attorney general, who has enacted sweeping new restrictions on firearms under the auspices of the state's consumer protection laws.

"There are many opportunities for us in the states," said Donna Dees-Thomases, founder of the Million Mom March. "If they want to throw up their hands in Congress, so be it. We've got other plans as well."

The hard times can be traced to the aftermath of the April 1999 killings at Columbine High School, when gun control advocates did not get the federal restrictions they wanted. Conservative Democrats joined with GOP leaders to stop a House bill requiring a three-day background check on gun show sales and trigger locks for handguns.

The NRA and several Republican candidates then seized on the issues in rural areas, using them as a way to undercut Democratic hopefuls in states such as Kentucky, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Now both parties are wary of broaching the topic, according to a senior House Republican, because it can backfire among suburban voters the GOP is wooing, as well as among rural Americans whom Democrats are trying to lure back to the party.

"I don't think either party is comfortable with the political and cultural realignment," the lawmaker said. "We'd much rather talk about economic issues."

Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) said Democrats, including Al Gore, last year's Democratic presidential nominee, "found themselves severely hurt in elections" by identifying with the issue of gun control.

"I think they're starting to learn this," said Dingell, whose office recently ordered 300 bumper stickers from the NRA emblazoned with the phrase "Charlton Heston is My President."

But many gun control advocates point out that five Senate candidates with strong backing by the NRA -- including Attorney General John D. Ashcroft -- were defeated in November. Oregon and Colorado overwhelmingly approved referendums requiring background checks at gun shows, measures that were heavily promoted by a new group called Americans for Gun Safety.

Founded by a millionaire tech executive, Americans for Gun Safety bills itself as a "third way" group intent on forging the middle ground in the gun debate.

It is playing a key role in helping Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) draft a less restrictive proposal on gun show checks than one that was adopted by the Senate but died in the House last year.

"It's our view that the gun safety movement is at a turning point," said Jonathan Cowan, the group's president. "Either it learns to speak to the center of the electorate, or it won't be relevant 20 years from now. . . . The opponents are mistaking a turning point for the end of the gun safety movement. It's a new beginning."

Even an outspoken gun control advocate such as Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.) -- whose husband was killed and son was injured in a shooting on a Long Island Rail Road commuter train -- has scaled back her plans in recent weeks. McCarthy is working with McCain and Lieberman on their compromise gun show proposal.