OPINION - Shields and Brooks 4/19/2013

"Shields and Brooks on Resilience During National Trauma, Failure of the Gun Bill" PBS Newshour 4/19/2013

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks talk to Jeffrey Brown about the Boston Marathon attack and the ensuing city-wide lockdown while authorities conducted a manhunt.  They also discuss the politics and political consequences behind the failed gun legislation, and whether it can be revived.

Significant excerpt

DAVID BROOKS, New York Times columnist David Brooks:  And I think what we learned was, there's long been a structure that has made it hard to pass gun control laws.

And then when Sandy Hook happened, we think that underlying political structure is changed, but it wasn't changed.  If you're in a red state, whether you're a Democrat or Republican, there's still no advantage to voting for it, mostly because the people who oppose guns vote on that issue.  The people who oppose gun control vote on that issue.  The people who support those gun control measures tend not to vote on this issue.

And so the political calculus in those states is still all against reform, and the political mobilization never reached those areas.

QUESTION:  If you support gun control why are you NOT voting on this issue in your state?  If you do not, the results are your fault.  Supporters of gun control need to be just as boisterous, in every state, as the NRA crowd.

Watch Shields and Brooks on Resilience During National Trauma on PBS.

See more from PBS NewsHour.

Significant excerpt

DAVID BROOKS, New York Times columnist David Brooks:  And I think what we learned was, there's long been a structure that has made it hard to pass gun control laws. And then when Sandy Hook happened, we think that underlying political structure is changed, but it wasn't changed.  If you're in a red state, whether you're a Democrat or Republican, there's still no advantage to voting for it, mostly because the people who oppose guns vote on that issue.  The people who oppose gun control vote on that issue.  The people who support those gun control measures tend not to vote on this issue. And so the political calculus in those states is still all against reform, and the political mobilization never reached those areas.