We have reached that tipping point again. The shootings in California, Las Vegas, Seattle and Portland have political leaders including President Obama and Nancy Pelosi taking about taking some action to deal with gun violence.
The shootings in Las Vegas may have also shined a light on the anti-government sentiments of many of those that the gun lobby and the manufacturers that it in reality represents rely on to keep both of them in business.
But this may not be the best time to push for legislation. I can understand the desire to get Senators and Representatives on the record on what seem like common sense reforms as background checks, magazine limits and bans on assault weapons.
But there are obstacles in the way, the main one is that this is a election year. Many Senators are up for re-election, and casting a vote against the National Rifle Association may put their seat at risk. If the Senate does go to the Republican Party, efforts at any sort of reasonable gun legislation will be impossible for at least two years.
What may be a better option is to make legislation that most people see as reasonable a part of the campaign. Get candidates on the record of whether or not they support common sense gun reform. This could be a great test of the power of Everytown, can the money of Michael Bloomberg's Mayors Against Illegal Guns and the ground and social media reach of Moms Demand Action overcome the NRA and it's insurrectionists?
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