Casey's gun shift draws praise and silence

WASHINGTON - When Mayor Nutter saw the news, he said, his first reaction was, "Whoa."

Nutter, a longtime advocate for tougher gun laws, was stunned to see Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.) change his views and tell The Inquirer on Wednesday that he would back an assault-weapons ban and a ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines, two measures gun-control groups have fought for with little success.

"This is a watershed moment, not just for this issue," Nutter said Thursday, praising Casey for his policy change and also for baring the emotions he felt while watching reports on the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn.

Casey has opposed new gun laws throughout his Senate career, until now. Nutter was among several gun-control advocates who cheered Casey's new position Thursday, calling it an important step toward their goal of passing new restrictions on assault weapons. But the mayor and others also acknowledged that major hurdles remained.

"Every vote is important, and in this world, if you have one more than you had the day before," Nutter said, "that's called progress."

Shira Goodman, executive director of CeaseFirePA, said Casey's comments showed "the tide is shifting in Pennsylvania."

"The Casey name is really very important in Pennsylvania politics, and it has long been linked with gun rights," Goodman said. "To hear him come out and say that he is willing to vote for reasonable gun regulations is really significant."

Goodman hoped Casey's move might encourage others to embrace some restrictions on access to guns.

"These statements of support, I think they matter," she said. "They are a signal that something is changing."

Casey said Wednesday that he was haunted by the thought of children and teachers shot many times by a high-powered gun, and that accounts of the massacre helped prompt his change of position just weeks after he had won reelection while still touting his opposition to new gun laws.

Casey's office said that of roughly 200 calls coming into his Washington office Thursday, 70 percent were favorable on banning assault weapons.

Pennsylvania Republican leaders were largely quiet Thursday. The state GOP did not return multiple messages seeking comment. Neither did several of the state's Republican lawmakers in Washington who have historically opposed restrictions on guns. The National Rifle Association, which has given Casey high grades in the past, did not return a message seeking comment.

Kim Stolfer, head of the Pennsylvania gun-rights group Firearms Owners Against Crime, called Casey a "political opportunist."

"What they're talking about eviscerating is the constitutional right to bear arms," Stolfer said. "There is a simmering dissatisfaction with this."

But former Gov. Ed Rendell, who won two statewide races while backing gun control, said polling showed broad support for banning assault weapons, limiting the size of magazines, and background checks for gun buyers.

"I don't think there's much of a political risk, but nonetheless I praise and credit Sen. Casey," Rendell said.

Casey's move followed similar comments by other pro-gun Democrats in recent days, but gun-control measures still have a long climb to becoming law.

"When it's time to count votes, that's what matters the most," Goodman said.

The last time lawmakers so publicly changed positions on guns was after the Columbine school shooting in 1999, said Robert Spitzer, a political scientist at the State University of New York-Cortland. Then, a wave of public opinion similar to the one now building forced Congress to take up gun measures, though both chambers were controlled by Republicans who opposed new gun laws.

Vice President Al Gore cast the tie-breaking vote to pass new restrictions in the Senate, but as time went on emotions faded and the plans failed in the House. The drive came close but fell short, said Spitzer, author of The Politics of Gun Control.

Similar challenges await in terms of politics and timing.

Moves from pro-gun lawmakers such as Casey "represent important cracks in the wall," Spitzer said, but so far most of the shifts have been in the Senate when the GOP-controlled House represents a bigger challenge for gun-control advocates.

"The goal of the NRA will be to keep any bill from reaching the floor," he said. "The longer it delays, the greater the likelihood that nothing will happen," as the raw images of Newtown recede.

For example, Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.), who on Monday was one of the first NRA-backed lawmakers to open the door to new regulations, has softened his tone, saying: "I'm not supporting a ban on anything. I'm supporting a conversation on everything."