[George W. Bush]

After the press briefing, however, Mrs. Pelosi said the Democrats might revisit guns "when the issue is ripe."

They are betting that another Columbince-scale incident will bring the issue back to life for them. Otherwise, they'll squeak and try to make a few cheap points against the GOP and Bush and leave the issue alone.

In the policy debate now, I think that one can see the gun-control victories a few years ago in the wake of Columbine are now meeting with the aftermath of 9/11 which made people once again aware of just how vulnerable they are and just how long it takes the police to arrive.

The older Columbine tragedy has lost politically to the newer 9/11 tragedy in the imaginations of voters. But it could be revived in the event of a major gun-related media-accessible tragedy. This is what Pelosi and her allies are waiting for. In the meantime, they will avoid the issue because they believe it cost them the House in '94 and the presidency in 2000 along with a lot of other races, some of them downstream candidates. The issue is accelerating their decline in the South.

[Shooter 2.5]

They are betting that another Columbince-scale incident will bring the issue back to life for them.

That's why we have to remain armed at all times to make sure we can stop it. Even the Beltway Snipers caused people to rethink their attitudes on guns.

It's odd to me why the perception changed. The citizens trusted the police while there were crackhouses in their neighborhoods but something that happened across the country affected them. The only thing I can think of is that the dems were in charge when the first terrorists hit and they did nothing. Now people have finally opened their eyes to the lies of the dem party.