President Obama’s newest push on gun control, endorsed by Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton, could hit the Democrats worse than in 1994 when then President Bill Clinton lost control of the House and Senate after signing the Brady Bill.
The reason: America’s gun culture is growing in major battleground states like Ohio, Virginia and Florida, and Latino and women voters are jumping in with both feet, opening them to GOP outreach on guns.
Consider those who have concealed carry permits, a number that has surged to nearly 15 million since Clinton was in the White House. Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, pointed to statistics that show 1.4 million in Florida, 1.1 million in Pennsylvania, 463,000 in Ohio and 387,000 in Virginia.
Norquist said that Democrats have missed that more people, especially blue collar workers, have more guns and also that the firearms are a greater part of their lives than before.
Anti-tax activist Grover Norquist blasts Barack Hussein Obama, Darth Vader, for his gun plans
… pic.twitter.com/CTWDV2AnX0— Friend of the NRA (@NRAFriend_2A) January 7, 2016
“Having a concealed carry is a more intimate relationship with your gun,” said Norquist, who credits the huge growth of GOP-led states in creating new Republicans through expansion of gun rights, support for homeschooling, and right-to-work laws. “It’s like your child. You know where your child is.”
Women are also participating, becoming the fastest growing market for guns. More than half, 55.8 percent, of women in one recent survey said that they plan to buy a firearm soon.
Then there is the growing Hispanic gun market. An internal survey provided to Secrets by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which represents gun makers and sellers, found that 18 percent of Latinos own a gun and 25 percent more want one. Even among Hispanic women, 10 percent own and 25 percent want guns, said NSSF.
The study of the Hispanic gun market also found that most are new owners. Of those who own, 60 percent purchased in the past two years. The most cited reason was home protection and self defense.
“Hillary Clinton is running a campaign for a different electorate, one that doesn’t exists,” Norquist said, referring to her focus on gun control. “Gun owners feel good about themselves,” he said, but hear from Clinton and Obama “a personal contempt for them.”
But Hispanic gun owners are not in lock step with Second Amendment advocates like the National Rifle Association, potentially giving the Democrats an opening. In the NSSF survey, the NRA had a two to one positive to negative rating. Remarkably, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service had a much better four-to-one rating.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
