The presidential candidates offered compassion and condolences to the victims’ families, canceled campaign events and pulled ads from Colorado airwaves after the shooting massacre of moviegoers at an Aurora theater.
What they did not do was talk about guns.
And despite the growing number of mass shootings in the country, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s plea Friday morning for them to “stand up” on the issue, it is unlikely that Democratic President Barack Obama or presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney will risk taking on the issue of gun control, political observers say.
“They should, but they won’t,” said Larry Sabato, a University of Virginia political-science professor. “They will assume their past positions and continue to tell us how sorry they are for the victims
.”
The debate over gun regulations has taken a back seat to a host of other issues in the past decade. The federal assault-weapons ban expired in 2004. Even as repeated bouts of gun violence have swept through such places as Columbine High School, Virginia Tech and Tucson in the past 13 years, there have been few changes to gun laws.
Additionally, the public’s support for gun-control measures, including handgun and assault-style rifle bans, is at a historic low, a 2011 Gallup poll found. Two decades ago, the poll found, 78 percent of Americans favored stricter gun-control laws. In 2010, the number fell to 44 percent.
“It hasn’t been an agenda item for years, mainly because Democrats have chosen not to make it one,” said Denver pollster Floyd Ciruli, noting that gun-control issues hurt the candidacy of Democratic presidential candidates Al Gore and John Kerry. “Politically, it is an issue that doesn’t help them.”
Obama White House spokesman Jay Carney indicated Friday that Obama’s position on guns remains, and will remain, unchanged.
“The president believes we need to take common-sense measures that protect the Second Amendment rights of Americans while ensuring that those who should not have guns under existing laws do not get them,” he said.
Romney, like Obama, temporarily pulled his ads in Colorado and suspended campaigning Friday. Neither he nor his campaign mentioned gun control.
Bloomberg, an outspoken supporter of gun control, said on a New York radio show Friday morning that he was fed up with gun violence and demanded that Obama and Romney enter the discussion.
“Soothing words are nice, but maybe it’s time that the two people who want to be president of the United States stand up and tell us what they are going to do about it because this is obviously a problem across the country,” Bloomberg said.
However, both candidates have already irked many in their respective party bases with their positions on gun control and have little to gain by entering the fray.
As president, Obama has signed a bill permitting guns in national parks and has failed to push for closing the gun-show loophole to require buyers at weekend gun shows to undergo the same background checks required of buyers at federally registered gun shops.
While Romney recently told the National Rifle Association that he would not burden lawful gun owners with more restrictions, he raised gun-registration fees and signed an assault-weapons ban in 2004 as governor of Massachusetts.
Karen E. Crummy: 303-954-1594, kcrummy@denverpost.com or twitter.com/karencrummy
