Gun Violence Will Get Worse Before It Gets Better

The death of the assault weapons ban (which has only been delayed by Harry Reid’s change of heart) provides a stark illustration of two basic principles of American politics. “An interested and active minority will always defeat an apathetic and/or inactive majority.” A closely related principle is that voters’ willingness to hold politicians accountable on a particular issue depends on the “proximity” of the issue to their lives and interests.

The spate of high profile instances of gun violence, like the shooting at Sandy Hook School, impacts the general public’s level of apathy, but since the vast majority of Americans still do not believe they or theirs are in any realistic danger, they do not convert nearly enough voters from passive supporters of gun control into active supporters of gun control willing to base their vote on this issue.

Republicans in Congress (and some Democrats) are still politically vulnerable enough on gun control to expect serious movement on this issue at the national level soon. They can realistically expect to be challenged from the right if they break ranks on guns, and they cannot realistically expect to be insulated from such challenges by voters in the center or on the left.

The issue of gay marriage provides a useful example of what would be necessary to advance serious gun control policies in Congress. The public’s opinion of gay marriage and gay rights moved decisively left in recent years, not simply because the arguments against it are weak. More and more Americans have come to the realization that they have gay friends and relatives who provide living and breathing testimony to the folly of anti-gay marriage arguments.

Like Senator Portman, more and more people are being touched by this issue in their own lives. Discrimination against gays and lesbians is not an abstraction to a rapidly increasing proportion of the American electorate.

Unfortunately, this means that gun violence will probably have to get much worse before it is likely to be seriously addressed by Congress.

In Support of a National Sales Tax

It is time to file my federal income tax return. That means hours spent gathering information and working with tax software or a preparation service to guide me through the maze of regulations as I attempt to get back some of my money from the government. Help me put an end to this.

There is a bill before the U.S House Ways and Means Committee to replace the income tax, the Medicare tax and the Social Security tax with one national sales tax and abolish the IRS in the process. These taxes will not be deducted from your paycheck and no tax return is required. You will keep the money you earn every payday.

Congress will not act on this bill unless we demand it. Congressman Richard E. Neal is a member of the Ways and Means Committee. Call (202) 225-3625 today and tell him to support HR25, The Fair Tax.

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Maloney in Turners, Not Shelburne

I’m long since over the fact that you all don’t cover us up here very much, but when you do mention Franklin County, please try to get the town names right. There was a great Heather Maloney CD release show on Saturday, March 16 at the Shea Theater here in Turners Falls (not Shelburne).

Trying to avoid all sarcasm/snideness here; just, seriously, this stuff matters some. Thanks.

Jamie Berger

via e-mail

The Advocate responds: We apologize for not correcting the name in our Nightcrawler column, which led with a mention of Heather Maloney’s CD release celebration at “the Shea Theater in Shelburne Falls.” In the illustrated item about the event on page 22, however, the setting was correctly identified as The Shea Theater, 71 Ave. A, Turners Falls.