Roger Simon’s interview with Howard Dean this week in U.S. News (oh, yes, U.S. News is also Dean-entranced, not just Time and Newsweek) includes this liberal two-step:

Q. During the debate in Vermont on civil unions for gay and lesbian couples, which you supported, did you have to wear a bulletproof vest?
A. Sometimes.
Q. Would gun control laws in Vermont have made that unnecessary?
A. No, because in Vermont gun control laws would have no effect whatsoever. They certainly don’t seem to have much effect in New York. Although my position is New Yorkers can have as much (gun control) as they want.

Why is it a secular media’s, well, article of faith, that social conservatives are only a tension headache away from being assassins?