Never let a good crisis go to waste. I’ve lost track of the number of articles I’ve written at Hot Air warning against the loss of gun rights following rampages by maniacs, but this seems to be pretty much right on schedule.

A top House Republican rejected calls by Democrats for hearings on gun safety in the wake of the Jan. 8 shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), suggesting that such hearings could interfere with the prosecution of the alleged gunman, Jared Loughner.

Rep. John Conyers (Mich.), top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, and 15 other Democrats on the panel sent a letter to Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) on Friday seeking hearings on several gun-safety issues related to the Tucson shooting.

This comes under the same banner we’ve seen before. “We don’t want to take away your guns! Perish the thought! We just want some sensible restrictions.” It will take the form of reduced magazine size. Or perhaps one of any other number of cookies in the basket we’ve seen following every tragic incident like this.

The lyrics may change, but the tune stays the same. The new Congress is far from perfect, but in this case let’s give a tip of our hat to Lamar Smith for not falling in line with a media surge and being pushed into drastic action for short term political gain. If nothing else, Congress should take a clue from the fact that gun sales among law abiding citizens who legally purchase and register their weapons tend to rise after such an incident. They’re not worried about the criminals… they’re worried about Congress.