washington and they will tell you that next to rush hour traffic on the beltway and snow, the thing everyone in d.c. fears most is the national rifle association, the nra, they are unrivalled in the power to scare and strongarm and shamelessly stick to its guns, sorry, sorry, and ultimately get what it wants. but it was not always this way. in 1969, then-president richard nixon, a republican, as you may remember, told the late journalist william sapphire that guns were an abomination. he wanted to make handguns illegal. years later, he joined ronald reagan, also, a republican, in support of the brady bill, which the nra spriedantly opposed. george h.w. bush, republican, made it illegal to import assault weapons. there was a time in modern history where you could be a national political figure, a national republican, and be in favor of gun control.