Politics Trumps Progress in Gun Debate

Variety's Brian Lowry has a very well written essay on the aftermath of the shootings in Colorado. This time, there seems to be an inevitability to where the "debate" is headed, which is to say nowhere.

He writes, "Both sides actually have elements of merit in their arguments -- insofar as it's hard to legislate away craziness -- but compromise, dialogue and middle ground are so 20th century.

"As things stand, neither argument can make any headway. "New gun-control laws are unlikely," read a Wall Street Journal headline anticipating the call for greater restrictions such incidents inevitably produce, with a gun-control advocate conceding inaction "comes down to political calculus." Another lamented in the New York Times how they "slog along, from one tragedy to the next."

"The bottom line is Republicans are deep in the pockets of the National Rifle Assn., and most Democrats have concluded attempting to curb gun rights doesn't help them at the polls.

"At the same time, there's no shoving the pop-culture genie back in the bottle, so railing against Hollywood represents little more than a fundraising tool for those in the outrage business."

His full essay is here.