Democrats rethink gun-control stance

Mr. Bayh and Mr. Pryor both defeated opponents who tried to cast them as being against the right to own firearms. At stump speeches, Mr. Pryor said he carried in his wallet a trump card: his hunting license.

But the two senators from rural states, both of which were won by President Bush in the 2000 election, said that strident antigun Democrats — especially Sens. Barbara Boxer of California, Charles S. Schumer of New York and Frank R. Lautenberg of New Jersey — pose image problems. Those senators are in the forefront of battles to strengthen the ban on assault weapons, to defeat legislation that would protect gun dealers from some lawsuits, and to strictly regulate sales at weekend gun shows.