Gun Opponents Look to Ballot as Vehicle for New Restrictions

They hope they can get the mob stirred up

After struggling to sway both state and federal lawmakers, proponents of expanding background checks for gun sales are now exploring whether they will have more success by taking the issue directly to voters.

While advocates generally prefer that new gun laws be passed through the legislative process, especially at the national level, they are also concerned about how much sway the National Rifle Association has with lawmakers.

Washington Rep. Jamie Pedersen, a Democrat who had sponsored unsuccessful legislation on background checks at the state level, said a winning ballot initiative would make a statement with broad implications.

Comments

[ant1sthenes]

Well, that certainly sounds like a great idea to bring pro-gun voters out to the polls, at which point they will possibly not only fuck up your stupid little proposition, but also punish your candidates as well. Unless you're running this shit in deep blue territory (in which case, why bother?), it's sounds about as brilliant as sending all your political capital to capture Moscow in the middle of winter.