A few commentators, including Rachel Maddow, have taken pessimists to task for suggesting that the chances of actual meaningful gun safety legislation in the wake of the Tucson assassination attempt are quite low. I think it’s more accurate to describe those pessimists as realists. And joining them is one of the most ardent gun safety supporters in the Congress, Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL).

I don’t really care that Boehner won’t support the King bill, which I find pretty ridiculous. But if legislation that comes from the Republican side can’t even get past the introductory stage, I don’t see what hope there is for Democratic bills.

A more obvious conclusion is that Rep. Pete King (R-NY) isn’t all that serious about gun control at all; he wants to propose something with no chance of becoming law to counteract the legislation, from Carolyn McCarthy (who’s from his neighboring district on Long Island), that would ban high-capacity magazine clips. I suspect this has more to do with local New York politics than anyone thinks. And of course, “independent” Mike Bloomberg is giving King a high-profile assist.

Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, who lost her husband to gun violence before coming to Congress, and who has since become one of the leading pro-gun control politicians in the country, plans to introduce legislation in response to the shooting in Tuscon, Arizona that claimed the life of six and left Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in a medically induced coma.