# Democrats push to make gun control a 2018 issue **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 20, 2018, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-push-to-make-gun-control-a-2018-issue/809184 "2018-02-20T10:33:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-push-to-make-gun-control-a-2018-issue/809184/221 "2018-02-23T19:32:44Z")
Symantec has withdrawn discounts on identity theft prevention products to NRA members. ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-push-to-make-gun-control-a-2018-issue/809184/222 "2018-02-23T21:20:36Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > When this first happened, I thought it would go the way of all other mass shootings. Outrage, obligatory thoughts and prayers, “this is not the time…”, inaction, wait for next massacre. > > This time is different. This is now a movement. I don’t know if it will succeed, but it seems to me that the pro-gun side isn’t as terrifying anymore. The NRA can’t simply threaten to flex a muscle and force politicians back in line. Some gun owners are saying “You know what, who needs these kind of weapons?” Unthinkable a month ago. We now have legions of new voters and energizing of older voters. What it looks like to me is a left version of the Tea Party. The intensity is the same, though they are different in that the Tea Party was just a visceral reaction to the notion of a black president. This new movement has legs and I think it’s unwise to dismiss it. Perfect storm of pissed off young people and dead young people. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-push-to-make-gun-control-a-2018-issue/809184/223 "2018-02-23T22:10:34Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > When this first happened, I thought it would go the way of all other mass shootings. Outrage, obligatory thoughts and prayers, “this is not the time…”, inaction, wait for next massacre. > > This time is different. This is now a movement. I don’t know if it will succeed, but it seems to me that the pro-gun side isn’t as terrifying anymore. The NRA can’t simply threaten to flex a muscle and force politicians back in line. Some gun owners are saying “You know what, who needs these kind of weapons?” Unthinkable a month ago. We now have legions of new voters and energizing of older voters. What it looks like to me is a left version of the Tea Party. The intensity is the same, though they are different in that the Tea Party was just a visceral reaction to the notion of a black president. This new movement has legs and I think it’s unwise to dismiss it. There are some different things going on, no question. There are two questions though: 1. Will the momentum be maintained? 2. Is it going to matter where it means most, in red states where Democrats are running to hold onto their seats? Parkland is Dem country. Bill Nelson is endangered by a challenge from Rick Scott. That race is going to be the single most important race as far as the gun issue goes. If Nelson loses despite an anti-Trump wave, then the gun control side is hopeless. And the polling for Scott looks solid despite the anti-Trump wave. > **[2018 Florida Senate - Scott vs. Nelson | RealClearPolling](https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/senate/general/2018/florida/scott-vs-nelson)** > > 2018 Florida Senate - Scott vs. Nelson | RealClearPolling ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-push-to-make-gun-control-a-2018-issue/809184/224 "2018-02-23T22:20:15Z")
I have a lot of trouble believing this won’t fizzle out, based on past history. However, if it fosters more young activist voters as a long-term trend, so much the better. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-push-to-make-gun-control-a-2018-issue/809184/225 "2018-02-23T22:25:05Z")
I’m skeptical that a “children’s crusade” of youth activism and young voters is going to come to pass. No, it’s not because this generation of teenagers is any dumber than previous ones, right-wing snark about “Tide Pods” notwithstanding. It’s because once these kids turn 18 and go to college, they’re going to go through a lot of changes. Their inner lives are going to become much more complicated; they will have the pressure of college, the confusion/excitement of being away from home, the perils and pleasures of sex and relationships and all that they entail; it’s something that every generation of young adults goes through, and I don’t think it overlaps very much with political involvement, honestly. Someone used the term “momentum”. I don’t think the momentum is going to be there on election day. I have no doubt that there will be a minority of passionate newly-minted voters who are determined to use their votes to make a change, but I think the rest of the young adults will simply have too much else going on in their lives to get the numbers up to where they would need to be to make a significant dent. It’s my understanding that voter demographics have always skewed towards older people, and I don’t really see that changing. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-push-to-make-gun-control-a-2018-issue/809184/226 "2018-02-23T22:46:48Z")
> [@Jacquernagy](#): > > I’m skeptical that a “children’s crusade” of youth activism and young voters is going to come to pass. No, it’s not because this generation of teenagers is any dumber than previous ones, right-wing snark about “Tide Pods” notwithstanding. It’s because once these kids turn 18 and go to college, they’re going to go through a lot of changes. Their inner lives are going to become much more complicated; they will have the pressure of college, the confusion/excitement of being away from home, the perils and pleasures of sex and relationships and all that they entail; it’s something that every generation of young adults goes through, and I don’t think it overlaps very much with political involvement, honestly. > > Someone used the term “momentum”. I don’t think the momentum is going to be there on election day. I have no doubt that there will be a minority of passionate newly-minted voters who are determined to use their votes to make a change, but I think the rest of the young adults will simply have too much else going on in their lives to get the numbers up to where they would need to be to make a significant dent. It’s my understanding that voter demographics have always skewed towards older people, and I don’t really see that changing. It changes when they are in the line of fire. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-push-to-make-gun-control-a-2018-issue/809184/227 "2018-02-23T22:52:49Z")
But it’s not like these shootings are a uniquely recent phenomenon. Virginia Tech (which was at a college, not a high school, mind you) didn’t really change anything. Students have been in the line of fire many times before; what’s different now? ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-push-to-make-gun-control-a-2018-issue/809184/228 "2018-02-23T23:13:35Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > It changes when they are in the line of fire. Quite possibly, if the line of fire is _literal_. A lot less likely when it is theoretical. There really aren’t many voters that actually survived school massacres. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2018, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-push-to-make-gun-control-a-2018-issue/809184/229 "2018-02-24T05:39:56Z")
> [@Jacquernagy](#): > > I’m skeptical that a “children’s crusade” of youth activism and young voters is going to come to pass. No, it’s not because this generation of teenagers is any dumber than previous ones, right-wing snark about “Tide Pods” notwithstanding. It’s because once these kids turn 18 and go to college, they’re going to go through a lot of changes. Their inner lives are going to become much more complicated; they will have the pressure of college, the confusion/excitement of being away from home, the perils and pleasures of sex and relationships and all that they entail; it’s something that every generation of young adults goes through, and I don’t think it overlaps very much with political involvement, honestly. Respectfully disagree; college is when/where I became politically aware and active. Of course, I graduated in 1971. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2018, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-push-to-make-gun-control-a-2018-issue/809184/230 "2018-02-24T05:59:46Z")
I think that was a very, very different time. It was before my time and so I obviously am incapable of having an opinion on the matter informed by first-hand experience, but I’ve gathered that both the Vietnam War and the possibility of nuclear war with the Soviet Union were far, far more existentially frightening prospects and were capable of generating _WAY_ more political activism among young adults, than anything like what’s going on now, even as hated as Trump and the GOP are. Add to that, the fact that marijuana, which increases empathy, intensifies both emotional and intellectual thought and discussion, was basically just discovered by a whole generation of people - to say nothing of more powerful psychedelics…there really is no comparison, I’m sorry. If we think of the political energy as molecular energy, say in a pot of water, and think of a flame on the stove, the flame was cranked up to HIGH in the late 60s/early 70s, and the flame is somewhere between “low” and “medium” right now. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2018, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-push-to-make-gun-control-a-2018-issue/809184/231 "2018-02-24T06:08:25Z")
I lived through “duck and cover drills” and the possibility of nuclear war with the Soviet Union. It was terrifying to many - but no one was killed… Today’s kids are dying. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2018, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-push-to-make-gun-control-a-2018-issue/809184/232 "2018-02-24T06:18:21Z")
I was talking about the combination of Cold War nuclear fear _and_ Vietnam. WAY more of “the kids” were dying in Vietnam than have died in school shootings. Your friends and neighbors, guys you grew up with, were being sent to a war seemingly for no reason (very different from World War II, which was more widely seen as justified) and possibly never coming back. Also, a few years ago, some of your friends literally were not allowed to eat at certain restaurants or sit in certain seats because they were black. The injustice and fear was just much more tangible and close-to-home for people. ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2018, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-push-to-make-gun-control-a-2018-issue/809184/233 "2018-02-24T07:46:29Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > I lived through “duck and cover drills” and the possibility of nuclear war with the Soviet Union. > > It was terrifying to many - but no one was killed… Today’s kids are dying. It’s not so much that they are dying, but that they are being told by the political leaders of the country that their deaths don’t matter - thousands of dollars in campaign contributions are more important. I won’t argue that this is the Millennials’ “Vietnam”. There’s no promise this won’t fizzle and die. But we’re seeing teenagers openly calling out their elected leaders for failing to protect them. We’re seeing survivors run for public office. We’re seeing young people attempting to mobilize. IF the Millennials realize they’re power to drive policy, the Boomers won’t survive. There’s more of “us” than there are of “them”, and money still doesn’t beat votes on election night. Nobody knows how it will turn out, and young adults are quite possibly the most fickle demographic - but they sure are pissed off. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2018, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-push-to-make-gun-control-a-2018-issue/809184/234 "2018-02-24T10:43:05Z")
> [@Chisquirrel](#): > > I won’t argue that this is the Millennials’ “Vietnam”. It’s definitely not the Millennials’ Vietnam, since high schoolers today are not millennials. If there were a draft for the wars we started in the wake of 9/11 then that would be millennials’ Vietnam, especially since I doubt that anyone who wasn’t in school during 9/11 is a millennial. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2018, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-push-to-make-gun-control-a-2018-issue/809184/235 "2018-02-24T11:51:06Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > [Democrats Push for Gun Control as Campaign Issue | RealClearPolitics](https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2018/02/20/democrats_push_for_gun_control_as_campaign_issue.html) > > I’ve been sarcastically calling for them to do this, didn’t think they were actually dumb enough to do it. When has this ever worked out for them? They’ve got Trump on the ropes, the public hates him, midterns with unpopular Presidents never go well for the ruling party, and so Democrats choose to make the election about guns? When defending a lot of red state Senate seats? Wow. My first thought on this was “Wow, there they go again, snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory.” Then I realized, this is 2018. You have to tell the public whatever they want to hear right now, and decide on the follow-up later. So this message is just priming the gun-control enthusiasts to remember that the midterms are coming up soon, and Democrats are their best shot at effecting the policies they want. 2018 is about saying things. Follow-through is totally 2008. Voters accept this with a straight face. Trump has taught us this much, if nothing else. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2018, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-push-to-make-gun-control-a-2018-issue/809184/236 "2018-02-24T17:11:10Z")
If the NRA has 5 million members, that means - just by way of comparison - that there are about twice as many people who identify as atheists. Nobody worries about the political power that atheists weild. The NRA is the little man behind the curtain. Once people start to recognize that NRA-type gun advocacy is a toxic agenda foisted upon us by a tiny proportion of the public, things will change. In the bigger picture, gun ownership has been steadily declining, and the NRA is specifically picking a fight with teenagers. Children are starting to ask why they’ve had to normalize the experience of active shooter drills and the chronic anxiety such a reality brings. Relatively soon, paunchy scared old white racist gun advocates will be dying off and life long ALICE-trained children will be aging onto voting rolls. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2018, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-push-to-make-gun-control-a-2018-issue/809184/237 "2018-02-24T19:22:30Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > If the NRA has 5 million members, that means - just by way of comparison - that there are about twice as many people who identify as atheists. Nobody worries about the political power that atheists weild. Atheists aren’t single issue voters, and not all single issue gun voters are members of the NRA. The problem is is that you do have a block of voters who don’t care about anything except increasing their access to guns. Hopefully, that block is shrinking, but, as it shrinks, it does become more vocal as it desperately clings to the power that it know it rightfully deserves for being “real americans”. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2018, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-push-to-make-gun-control-a-2018-issue/809184/238 "2018-02-24T19:49:09Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Atheists aren’t single issue voters, and not all single issue gun voters are members of the NRA. > > The problem is is that you do have a block of voters who don’t care about anything except increasing their access to guns. Hopefully, that block is shrinking, but, as it shrinks, it does become more vocal as it desperately clings to the power thaet it know it rightfully deserves for being “real americans”. It’s less a function of NRA members’ single issue nature, since their number is really pretty small. it’s more a function of the identity factor affecting non-single-issue Republican voters. The NRA voters can stay unchanged and vote as they like, but if the NRA becomes stanky, and if taking NRA money becomes concerning, the dynamic changes entirely. For example, I don’t know the numbers, but I would suspect that single-issue anti-gay voters are probably unchanged in number, but homosexuality doesn’t remotely work as a wedge issue for voters anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_lining](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@Silver\_lining](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_lining)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-push-to-make-gun-control-a-2018-issue/809184/239 "2018-03-18T15:51:24Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > [Democrats Push for Gun Control as Campaign Issue | RealClearPolitics](https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2018/02/20/democrats_push_for_gun_control_as_campaign_issue.html) > > I’ve been sarcastically calling for them to do this, didn’t think they were actually dumb enough to do it. When has this ever worked out for them? They’ve got Trump on the ropes, the public hates him, midterns with unpopular Presidents never go well for the ruling party, and so Democrats choose to make the election about guns? When defending a lot of red state Senate seats? Wow. Obama, if I’m not mistaken signed ZERO gun laws in 8 years as president. Guns are a losing issue for the Dem’s. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-push-to-make-gun-control-a-2018-issue/809184/240 "2018-03-18T16:45:19Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > Obama, if I’m not mistaken signed ZERO gun laws in 8 years as president. > > Guns are a losing issue for the Dem’s. If the dems produced and signed no gun laws over 8 years, and in the process, lost power, then how can you say that guns are a losing issue, when they were never even tested? It may very well be that the lack of gun legislation put forth by the dems is part of the reason that the left wing has fractured support these days. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-push-to-make-gun-control-a-2018-issue/809184.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-push-to-make-gun-control-a-2018-issue/809184.md?page=13)