Polls offer little evidence of that now, however. Gore, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, has no clear advantage over Republican George W. Bush on the issue.
Polls show the two about even when people are asked who they trust on guns.
And Republicans argue that the debate may actually help their candidate because of Bush's call for tougher enforcement of existing gun laws, instead of new legislation. There's no question that there is a significant gender gap on guns, with women calling for more gun control and men calling for tougher enforcement. Two days before Mother's Day and the Million Mom March, a women's movement advocating tougher gun control, Bush announced a trigger lock giveaway in Texas. He also has said he would sign legislation requiring that trigger locks be sold with guns. Bush also backs increasing the minimum age for gun possession from 18 to 21 and has signed legislation increasing the penalties for selling guns to juveniles and for parents who leave guns where children can get them, campaign aides say.