In 1994, Republicans gained 54 seats in the midterm Congressional election — and a large part of that victory was attributed to a backlash in swing districts against gun control legislation. President Clinton had signed the Brady bill, which instituted background checks for gun purchases, in November 1993 and the assault weapons ban in September 1994, just before the elections.
That's when Democrats nationally pretty much gave up the ghost on gun control. The final nail in the proverbial casket on the issue, if you will, happened in 2000. As Salon.com has reported, the party's presidential nominee, Al Gore, muted his support for gun control to build support in battleground states like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan where support for gun rights runs high. After Gore lost in the recount, many Democrats blamed the defeat on previous pro-gun control positions Gore had taken, and pulled the party further back from where it had been on the issue.
In Florida many Democrats in the Legislature have called for a repeal or serious revision of the state's controversial Stand Your Ground law, passed in 2005. And so is one of the national party's standard-bearers, Bill Clinton.
