Rural America vs. Sensible Gun Control

Debate on gun legislation began this week in the U.S. Senate. Gun manufacturers, the National Rifle Association, a narrow band of gun-rights ideologues and, to a lesser degree, the 16 percent of Americans who live in rural areas were well represented. Most of the American public was not.

Multiple opinion polls have shown that more than 80 percent of Americans support expanded background checks to make it more difficult for criminals and the mentally ill to obtain guns. Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania struck a bipartisan deal to accomplish that goal. Their proposal contains loopholes -- what American gun legislation doesn’t? -- but it is an honest attempt to address a genuine threat to public safety.