WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Is the Virginia Tech tragedy likely to put gun control on the political agenda? Don't bet on it. In recent years, gun control has been an issue most politicians prefer to stay away from.

The last significant gun control measures to make it through Congress were the Brady bill in 1993 and the assault weapons ban in 1994. Immediately after that, Democrats lost control of Congress. Then-President Clinton said the gun lobby had a lot to do with his party's defeat.

Democrats have been gun shy ever since. Then-Vice President Al Gore rarely talked about gun control in the 2000 presidential campaign. Sen. John Kerry, Massachusetts, ran as a defender of the Second Amendment when he was the Democratic presidential nominee in 2004. Nevertheless, the National Rifle Association ran an ad accusing Kerry of ``running away from your record, just like Al Gore did.'' This year, Rudy Giuliani, a longtime supporter of gun control, says the matter should be left up to the states.

Polls show the public supports gun control. Why don't the politicians get with the people?

Three reasons:

1. Public support for stricter gun laws has been declining since the 1990s, according to the Galllup Poll. The latest figure shows 49 percent support for stricter laws in January 2007, less than a majority for the first time since at least 1990. The decline seems to be attributable to decreasing violent crime rates since 1994.

2. Gun owners vote the issue. Supporters of gun control usually don't. Politicians know they will pay a price at the polls if they vote for new gun laws, even if most voters agree with them.

3. After a shocking incident like the one at Virginia Tech, public anger over gun violence rises, but it's usually not sustained very long. Whereas gun owners remember every gun control vote as a threat to their rights.

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