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• • r: • • • or Brian Judy, few things used to _ be as unpleasant as an appearance before the Washington State legislature. Judy represents the interests of the National Rifle Association in the .~w Pacific Northwest. With the exception of those who lobby for tobacco, there has hardly been a more unpopular individual in Olympia in recent years. When it came time to testify on firearms issues, Judy rarely received a sympathetic hearing. In fact, it was down- right hostile. Typically, his appearance before the Democrat-led House judiciary committee would be followed by the wrenching testimony of a gun violence survivor or a victim's family member. This did not happen by coincidence. "The chairman choreographed the hearing to make pro-gun supporters look like a bunch of insensitive slobs," says Judy. That changed this January. With Republicans in firm control of the House-and a new pro-gun rights chair- man, Mike Padden, overseeing the list of committee witnesses Judy's turn at the mike was decidedly less stressful. There was less pencil-tapping and eye-rolling from the committee members. The ques- tions were not so contentious. Gun victims ,~ COVER STORY/POLITICS The NRA and its allies .are promising a major offensive to roll back recent gun control gains. Given the election victories of 1994, there is every reason to believe they will get much of what they want. directed toward President Clinton cer- tainly played a considerable role, as did the roiling anti-government sentiment voiced by voters. And any GOP gains in Washington State must take into account the significant impact registered by the state's potent Christian Coalition. In Washington, as in most other states, it was a bad year to be a Democrat, period. Still, any way you look at it, the gun lobby's fingerprints are all over the takeover of the Washington House: All but two of the 27 new House members who works on legislative and congres- sional campaigns. "It was astounding. Anywhere you went, the one subject that was certain to come up was gun rights." The phenomenon was hardly limited to the state of Washington. After a recent series of stinging defeats at both the state and federal level, the NRA and groups allied with it are returning to their status as the most feared-and most effective- lobby not only in Olympia but in state capitols across the country. In a number of states, the political equation has changed so radically that not only are there likely to be few steps toward gun control but gun control forces can expect to find themselves defending against attempts to turn back recent gains. "Our whole focus is not going to be on the defensive. We really want to go on the offensive," says Tara A. Reilly of the national NRA's state and local affairs divi- sion. "We want to pursue our own agenda-that is, repeal and reform." The gun lobby has reloaded in Wash- ington and enough other states to make it a virtual certainty that there will be a revisiting of the firearms debate, whether it is at the margins of firearms restrictions or on major issues such as assault weapons or the right of states to pre- empt stricter local gun control ordinances. In Texas, for example, NRA-endorsed candidate George W. Bush, a Republi- were nowhere to be seen. For once, Judy's three minutes in the spotlight were like those of any other witness. Nowadays, items at the top of the NRA's agenda, such as scaling back fees for gun dealers and repealing a requirement that guns be car- ried in an opaque case, are likely to receive a respectful hearing. The reason is due at least in part to the gun lobby's role in Washington State's 1994 Republican romp. Last November, the state House experienced the largest turnover of any legislative body in the country. There is plenty of debate as to how much of the Republican landslide was in fact attributable to the NRA. Anger carry top ratings from the NRA. In the state Senate, Republicans also picked up three seats, bringing them to within two votes of a majority. Perhaps the most telling indicator came from the central and eastern regions of the state, where pro-gun senti- ment and antipathy toward Democratic Governor Mike Cowry's 1994 crime and gun control package were deepest. Voter turnout east of the Cascade Mountains ran far higher than in the Seattle area. "Politically, the issue was red-hot for any candidate in 1994 in this state," says Brett Bader, a Republican consultant BY CHARLES MAHTESIAN can, defeated Democratic Governor Ann W. Richards, setting up a legislative bat- tle this year over one of the most contro- versial items on the gun lobby's agenda: the right to carry concealed weapons. Richards earned the ire of gun owners by vetoing a measure that would have left the issue up to the voters to decide. The NRA's repeal-and-reform agenda will also be highlighted in states such as Missouri and North Carolina, where sizable Republican legislative gains have made both states more receptive to pro-gun leg- islation. In Washington State, says pro-gun state Representative Tom Campbell, "the changes will be dramatic. You'll see just 16 GOVERNING March 1995 Timothy Knepp illrestration