Obama Adviser on Stalled Gun Laws: Washington Has Cold Feet
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iStockPhoto/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — Dan Pfeiffer doesn’t understand Congress’ recent wane in support for what he calls the “no-brainer” parts of President Obama’s proposed gun legislation.
“I’ve been in politics a long time,” the White House senior adviser said at Politico’s Playbook Breakfast on Wednesday, “I very rarely run into a 90 percent issue. Background checks –universal background checks are a 90 percent issue.”
Pfeiffer referred to the 90 percent of Americans that support background checks for all gun buyers, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released last February.
In response to the growing gun violence epidemic, the Obama administration has moved to pass new “common-sense” gun control measures. However, the new legislation has not been able to garner enough support in Congress to pass.
When asked why congressional support for the initiatives has wavered, Pfeiffer said that nerves might be to blame.
“There may be people in Washington who certainly might be getting cold feet here, [who] are looking for a way out of making progress here,” Pfeiffer told Politico’s Mike Allen.
But Pfeiffer predicts the current situation will ultimately hurt lawmakers, not Obama’s measures.
“People feel very strongly about this,” Pfeiffer said, recalling Obama’s experiences with those personally affected by gun violence. “There aren’t a lot of cardinal rules in politics, and one is, you don’t want to get on the wrong side of a 90 percent issue.”
Obama, who traveled to Colorado on Wednesday, is visiting regions affected by gun violence in hopes of rallying support for his gun control measures.
“What the president wants to sign is the strongest gun bill he can sign,” Pfeiffer said, “and our baseline here is where — what is the law today, and how much stronger can we make it.”
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio