Sunday, 26 March 2000
http://www.azstarnet.com/public/dnews/000326wgun.html
© 2000 The New York Times
WASHINGTON Behind much of the political debate in recent
weeks, on issues from gun control to education, is an intensifying
struggle for the hearts of women, particularly suburban mothers.
Strategists in both parties say the presidential race may well
hinge on whether Gov. George W. Bush, who has built his campaign
around a promise of "compassionate conservatism," succeeds
in holding his own among women, who have voted heavily Democratic
in two of the last three presidential elections.
One of the first tests may come on the issue of gun violence and
gun control, which pollsters say is a far more powerful issue
among women than among men. In a CBS News poll conducted last
Sunday through Tuesday, 56 percent of the men said laws governing
the sale of handguns should be made more strict; 73 percent of
the women agreed.
On May 14, Mother's Day, a "Million Mom March" on behalf
of "common sense gun control legislation," endorsed
by an array of gun control, women's and religious groups, will
be held in Washington and several other U.S. cities.
"This is about keeping our children safe," said Ann
Lewis, a Clinton counselor and longtime Democratic strategist.
"It's not rhetorical, it's about children dying in school
and our ability to keep them safe. That is the bottom line for
parents generally, but felt even more strongly and acted on even
more strongly by women."
Democrats see Bush's record on guns especially his signing of
a law allowing Texans to carry concealed guns as a real vulnerability.
Republicans counter that other issues notably education loom far
larger for women. Still, Bush has taken pains to establish some
distance from the NRA and its harsh attacks on Clinton in recent
days.
Ari Fleischer, a spokesman for Bush, described the concealed weapons
law as a help to women who work at night, and indicated that Bush
was happy to campaign on his record of tough law enforcement,
particularly against people who commit crimes with guns.
Democrats talk of Bush's focus on women with a grudging respect.
"From the beginning, he was planning to be a Republican presidential
candidate who could win the votes of women," Lewis said.
"That's why he's photographed so much with children, why
he campaigned as a compassionate conservative, why he talked about
himself as a 'uniter not a divider.' But he ran into a bump in
the primaries, and he had to take a hard right."
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