To the left, to the left, Sen. Pat Toomey's stance on gun control in the box to the left

This week Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) is facing some criticism on both sides of the political aisle over his means of handling gun control laws.  As noted in an article from the Morning Call, which I actually found in the Berg Bulletin because Dr. Borick is quoted, a conservative group of gun-rights activists (Pennsylvanians for Self-Protection) called off a protest planned at Toomey's office after reportedly learning from his staff that the Senator would not attempt to introduce any stricter gun control legislation (Olson 2015).  However, when questioned about these comments, Toomey's office reported to the media that his stance on gun control has not changed and that he will attempt to reintroduce a failed bill from sessions past—the Manchin-Toomey bill that would increase the expansion of background checks for people purchasing guns (Olson 2015).  This provoked a negative response from the conservative pockets in his constituency (such as the aforementioned gun-rights group) as well as accusations of political flip-flopping from his potential opponents in his 2016 reelection campaign (ibid.).

Given what we have discussed recently in class about contemporary partisanship, Toomey's commitment to his rather moderate view on gun control is both relevant and interesting.  This view demonstrates an attempt to reach across party lines and compromise with Democrats in Congress.  Such bipartisan policymaking, as we have learned, is not as common as it was decades ago.  So what explains Toomey's not-so-conservative stance on gun control?  First, let's think about Toomey's constituency in the state of Pennsylvania.  According to the state's reporting of voter registration statistics in November 2014, just over 3 million Pennsylvanians are registered Republicans while just over 4 million are registered Democrats (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania).  Thus, Toomey's constituency is somewhat balanced between the two parties, and his moderate stance on some issues, such as gun control, may have helped him secure his seat when first elected in 2010.  By maintaining his position on gun control in the face of conservative opposition, Toomey appears to remain true to his split constituents.  Perhaps this is an attempt to represent fairly or perhaps it is a strategy being employed as a means to increase his chances against a Democratic challenger in the 2016 election.

Additionally, it is important to consider Toomey's place in Congress and how that impacts his ability and decision to take a moderate stance on issues such as gun control.  As a man, he has more room to take positions that oppose the general platform of his party than do his female colleagues (Pearson 2013).  As a Senator, more generally, though, Toomey would be disincentivized from opposing his party's views due to the the intense partisanship of the contemporary Senate.  So, if being more moderate on gun control causes him to clash with members of his own party, perhaps his focus on his upcoming reelection campaign truly does overpower the need to side with his party in the Senate.  While the latter may be crucial to gaining party respect and advancing one's rank, Toomey will be unable to achieve either of these things if he does not win reelection in 2016.  It will be interesting to see how his efforts to reach across the aisle with regard to gun control policy will be received, both by his fellow Senate Republicans and by the more conservative groups within his constituency.

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Sources:

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. "2014 Voter Registration Statistics - Official." 4 November 2014. (http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_2_85662_12725_572645_43/http%3B/pubcontent.state.pa.us/publishedcontent/publish/cop_general_government_operations/dos/am/content/bcel/voter_registration_statistics/2014_election_vr_stats.pdf)

Pearson, Kathryn. 2013. "Congresswomen's Pursuit of Power in a Partisan Environment." Congress Reconsidered, tenth edition. Dodd, Lawrence C. and Bruce I Oppenheimer, eds. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Olson, Laura. "Mixed message from Sen. Pat Toomey on gun control?" The Morning Call. 15 September 2015.
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-pa-toomey-gun-rights-protest-20150915-story.html