Gun control issue to make appearance at DNC
By J. Jioni Palmer
July 22, 2004

With the ban on assault weapons set to expire in September, 10 years after it was enacted by Congress, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-Mineola) will again try to bring the gun control issue to the forefront during a speech at the Democratic National Convention in Boston next week.

McCarthy, who became a national advocate for tougher firearms laws after her husband was killed and son injured by a gunman on the Long Island Rail Road in 1993, said she hopes the speech stirs the American public to pressure Congress to pass another 10-year ban.

"Both sides of the aisle are skittish about this issue," said McCarthy, scheduled to deliver her speech on Wednesday just before most television networks begin their prime-time coverage.

"We do know the ... [National Rifle Association] has strong members and members [of Congress] are nervous about them," McCarthy said. "Being that we are battling for the House, both sides are afraid to bring it up."

The ban is scheduled to expire on Sept. 13, unless Congress passes an extension.

While President George W. Bush and presumptive Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts support extending the ban, which outlaws 19 military-style guns, neither has made it a signature part of his campaign.

The issue is fraught with potential pitfalls for both candidates if they push too hard for the measure, political analysts say, with Bush not wanting to anger his conservative pro-gun base and Kerry eager not to raise a potentially polarizing issue in key swing states.

"Clearly, both are looking not to offend and make it a big motivator for their opposition," said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion in Poughkeepsie. "They are both treading lightly."

Kerry and Democrats, he said, feel the issue, a focal point in the previous three presidential elections, likely cost former Vice President Al Gore votes in several battleground states in the Midwest and in Southern border states.

Political observers say that in an effort to salve gun owners concerned about his support for the ban, Kerry has emphasized his own enjoyment of recreational hunting.

But Robert Zimmerman, a Democratic National Committee member from Great Neck, said Democrats are not shying away from the issue.

"There is nothing to be defensive about," he said, citing national polls showing the majority of voters support the ban. "Carolyn McCarthy has shown that standing for the assault weapons ban is not just great policy, but great politics."