Let's take a deep breath and think about what we know about gun violence and gun control.

Even for politicians, hard facts must eventually matter. If they can't see that gun control laws have failed to deliver as promised, it's hard to know when facts will make a difference.

It has been reported that the Obama campaign this year, as in 2008, has disabled or chosen not to use AVS in screening contributions made by credit card. That doesn't sound very important. But it's evidence of a modus operandi that strikes me as thuggish.

When the federal assault-weapons ban expired last September, its fans claimed that gun crimeswould surge.Eight months later,the only casualty has been gun-controllers' credibility.

The media give misleading impressions of what actions saved the lives of people confronted by violence.

The current ban on handguns in the District of Columbia has not reduced violence in the city.

Passing the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act this month would still allow law suits, but would put gun makers on the same legal footing as other American manufacturers.

Evenif theCanadian government were to convince the United States to ban guns, that would provide no more of a magic solution to Canadian crime than its own failed gun registry.