Hear the Quiet?

By Gerard Valentino

(This commentary has also been published at CNSNews.com!

Once a hot-button political issue, gun control has become nothing more than a second tier topic on the national scene.

In the last presidential election the only serious press coverage devoted to guns revolved around John Kerry's poorly devised goose hunting trip in Ohio designed to make him look like a supporter of 2nd Amendment rights.

There was also a brief spurt of coverage in September 2004 when the Clinton assault weapons ban was allowed to sunset. Just a few short years ago, a story about an assault weapons ban would have had long-term traction during a presidential election season. Instead the ban expired with a whimper; and less than a year later the story is largely ignored.

Victories for the pro-gun movement continued when a bill protecting gun companies from frivolous lawsuits passed in Congress was signed into law earlier this year by President Bush.

The best efforts of the establishment media to create a furor over the issue failed to generate any buzz. Regardless, the anti-gun spin doctors were out in force trying to create a tidal wave of opposition to the bill.

Instead, they couldn't even muster a ripple.

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When a major gun manufacturer recently released a handgun that the anti-gun movement could tag with the mythical "cop-killer" label it sent the anti-gunners into a tizzy. Rarely are they happier than when they can toss the divisive and misleading term on a press release because they know establishment media sees it as a ratings bonanza.

Yet, earlier this year such a story fell from the national scene with a thud shortly after hitting the news wire.

Time after time anti-gun groups have failed to generate a following for stories that in years past would make newspaper headlines and would be the lead story on television news shows for weeks, or longer. Even the occurrence that the anti-gun movement prizes above all others, school shootings, no longer lead to investigative reports about guns and kids, instead reporters study the social atmosphere that led to the heinous act.

The anti-gun movement's failure to sway public opinion is a direct result of their willingness to cry wolf. Every time a state considers a concealed carry law they warn of blood running in the streets and skyrocketing gun violence. They also still can't explain how cities with restrictive gun control laws have the highest crime rates or how shootings take place in gun-free zones like schools and courthouses.

There is a cliche in the sports world that when playing in an opponent's stadium the goal is to "listen for the quiet," meaning that you've so thoroughly beaten a team on its home field that all the home fans can do is sit quietly in shock.

Right now anti-gun organizations and their cohorts in the establishment media are playing the part of the home team, and fans, which are forced to watch the stunning success of the pro-gun movement without the ability to mount serious opposition.

Much like the home team trying to get their crowd back in the game the establishment media is doggedly determined to create newsworthy anti-gun stories. Their failure to do so proves how far the anti-gun message has fallen since their hey-day in the 1990's.

Not that we expect the leaders of the national anti-gun movement or notorious anti-gun politicians like Diane Feinstein (D-CA), Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Mike DeWine (R-OH) to suddenly give up their crusade to destroy the 2nd Amendment.

Instead, aided by the establishment media, they will continue their attacks on freedom undaunted by the lack of public support and the continued failure of their message.

Meanwhile, pro-gun advocates have created a near perfect political storm that continues to roll in a wave of victories at the ballot box and in the nation's legislatures. Now for just a moment, they can sit back and enjoy the quiet.

Then it is right back to work in order to keep the pressure on those determined to take away our freedoms because all it takes is one spark to get anti-gun fans, pushed by the establishment media, back in the game.

(Gerard Valentino is the Buckeye Firearms Association Central Ohio Chair, buckeyefirearms.org, and writes for the ValentinoChronicle.com)