Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have been tiptoeing around the controversial issue of gun control, a hot topic in Pennsylvania:

Gun control arouses deep emotions here. Deadly shootings have earned the state’s largest city the ominous nickname: “Killadelphia.” One of the strongest opponents of gun control, the National Rifle Association, has 250,000 members in Pennsylvania, more than in any other state. This month the Pennsylvania House soundly defeated a bill to require handgun owners to report the theft or loss of their guns to police.

Both candidates supported some form of gun control before launching their bids for the presidency - Clinton backed a federal mandate for state-issued photo gun licenses and a national registry for handgun sales, while Obama worked for tougher gun control in Illinois. But now both candidates shy away from the issue, citing only “common sense” and support of the 2nd Amendment in their gun control views.

Tomorrow, Clinton and Obama face off in their only Pennsylvania debate, and it happens to fall on the one-year anniversary of the Virginia Tech shootings. Planned “lie-in” demonstrations to promote stricter gun laws will surely make news as well tomorrow, especially since one demonstration is planned to occur near the debate site.

Obama may also have to address his recent “bitter” comments, in which he said that jaded blue-collar voters “cling to guns and religion.”

Clinton has tried to use this quote to her advantage by discussing her supposedly close ties to guns and religion, despite the fact that she’s supported tough gun control measures in the past:

As if to show her opponent how it ought to be done, Clinton — a longtime advocate of gun control laws — spoke of her lifelong reverence for the Second Amendment. “You know, my dad took me out behind the cottage my grandfather built on a little lake called Lake Winola outside of Scranton and taught me how to shoot when I was a little girl,” she said. “Some people have continued to teach their children and their grandchildren. It’s part of culture, it’s part of a way of life.”

Clinton also made a point of telling audiences about her deep religious faith. The topper — or the chaser — came at Bronko’s Restaurant and Lounge in Crown Point, Ind., where Clinton threw back a shot of Crown Royal whiskey and followed it with a beer.

On a side note, was the drinking a strategic move to make her seem like the gun-totin’ Bible-lovin’ down-home candidate you could have a beer with? I wonder if her campaign devised a scenario for her to have a few “non-elitest” drinks at a “non-bitter” lounge while getting “in touch” with the local American people.

Will Clinton and Obama provide clearer answers about gun control at tomorrow’s debate? With so much at stake in Pennsylvania, a state where a candidate needs to strike a delicate balance between gun rights and gun control, it’s unlikely.