10 Years Since Columbine

Earlier this month I was talking about the shootings at Columbine on the radio and overestimated how long ago that took place - it's 10 years ago today.

I guess the events of Nine Eleven and the fact that gun control hasn't been at the top of the American political agenda for awhile made me think Columbine was even longer ago than that.

Looking back on the aftermath of those Colorado shootings, Democrats demanded action by the Congress - which was in GOP hands - but had little to show for it.

The gun control debate was centered that year mainly on the so-called "gun show loophole," which still an issue today.

Certainly we've seen a spasm in gun related violence in recent weeks - but that has not been met with rampant calls for action by the Congress.

That's because right now, there isn't anywhere near a majority in the Congress to approve gun control legislation, as gun rights supporters in both parties have the definite edge.

Of course, that could always change, but it is going to take even larger Democratic majorities in the Congress to get there.  That seems possible only if Democrats make major gains in the next mid-term elections, but I still say it's a longshot.

When I started covering Capitol Hill in 1986, there were two major issues that I spent a lot of time on - gun control and abortion.

Both of them used up a lot of air time over the years, but now both are on the back burner politically when it comes to the Congress.

It's not that they aren't important to people - they are.  But we are at a point in the political debate where both issues have settled, and don't seem to be changing in any major sense.

So that's why you have the odd situation right now of Democrats running the entire show in Washington, D.C., and yet they are almost mute on one of their main issues, gun control.

It's a good reminder that just because one party is in charge, it doesn't mean they are going to get their entire agenda enacted into law.