Newswise — As you know, the U.S. Senate voted against a series of newly proposed gun laws on Monday. Stony Brook University Political Science Professor Matthew Lebo thinks that "these votes are not surprising." He says:

"Republicans are wary of passing any bill that places restrictions on gun sales. It can cost them the endorsement of the NRA and make for bad publicity in future primary elections -- that is, any move to the middle by a Republican opens up the possibility of a primary challenge from a more conservative candidate. Also, this is a tactical victory for the Democrats. they forced votes on the issue and now have Republican senators on record voting against things the public clearly wants. These votes will be used over and over again in commercials this year and will help the Democrats paint the Republicans as out of touch with public opinion on guns. It will certainly help in some key Senate races."

Professor Lebo is an expert in public opinion, presidential and congressional elections, and party politics in the United States and Great Britain. One of his recent papers explores how a high level of partisanship was costly in the 2010 elections. Another paper that he co-authored found that congressional parties gain and lose seats based on the battles won and lost by the president.

Stony Brook University has a ReadyCam TV interview studio capable of transmitting live broadcast-quality standard and high-definition video directly to all news media organizations around the world 24/7. An ISDN line is also available.