Is Offshore Drilling the Next Gun Control?

The conventional punditry on McCain’s call to end the ban on offshore oil exploration has focused on whether President Bush’s suppport for the idea will hurt McCain in the fall. But that could change, and soon, if what’s happened in just the past few days develops into a real trend:

Sen. Jim Webb announced he now supports exploration off the coast of Virginia.

Ex-Gov. Mark Warner also supports opening up the Virginia coastline to possible drilling.

Meanwhile, the latest Gallup survey shows Democrats are split on offshore drilling, with 39% in support while 59% still oppose.

Better yet, it’s an issue where independents side with the GOP, although the margins are not so wide (80% in favor vs. 56%). Overall, Americans favor opening up U.S. coastal waters by a 57% to 41%.

Now, what does this issue remind you of? How about gun control in the late 1990s?

Arguably the anti-gun movement’s greatest victory was the 1994 Scary-Looking Gun Act… er, Assault Weapons Ban. Through the 1990s, crime declined steadily, and it had nothing to do with assault weapons or the ban. State gun laws stayed the same or got better. Americans’ support for gun freedom started to tick upward. The 2007 Virginia Tech massacre generated more questions from the left about their own priorities than any actual calls for greater restrictions.