Gun control groups say they have momentum – here’s why

Two of the nation’s leading gun control groups are sounding surprisingly upbeat in their ongoing political shootout with the NRA over expanded back ground checks vs. broadening laws that allow carrying weapons on the streets.
The main reason for this unlikely optimism? Money. With the help of Super-PACs such as former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg’s organization and groups operating at the grassroots level, the NRA opponents believe they’ve created some momentum. Lobbying and campaign contributions are the weapons of choice.

The 2013 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., was one catalyst and the mass shooting at the black church Charleston, S.C., earlier this month was another.  

According to U.S. News and World Report, Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, and Ladd Everitt, communications director of the grassroots Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, don’t seem fazed by the NRA’s successes in extending open-carry laws and establishing concealed-carry laws in six states that require no training or a permit to carry a handgun.

Here’s what U.S. News is reporting:

“… Gross and other gun-control advocates say that, after decades of uphill fights against the NRA – arguably the wealthiest, most powerful political organization in America – their side has quickly reached more level ground in a much longer war. Grassroots support is surging through organization and fundraising ...
“‘I wouldn't argue we have totally loosened the [NRA's] grip," he says, ‘but we have made progress. The NRA is not going to fold their tent and go away. The NRA is an enormously powerful and influential organization. This is going to be a slog. We're not going to win the battle overnight.’”

Of course, the Second Amendment has become a highly partisan issue, with the NRA solidly in the Republican camp and the gun control groups dependent on Democrats for success. With the exception of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, all of the announced Republican presidential candidates have NRA legislative ratings of A-plus or A-minus – its top two ratings. … At the same time, a December 2014 Pew Research Center poll had bad news for the gun-control movement: for the first time, a majority of respondents favored gun rights over gun control, 52 percent to 49 percent.

“The Brady Center's Gross wasn't impressed,” according to U.S. News. “He says the opposition has battled the NRA to a virtual draw at the state level, with expanded background checks on the books in 18 states, and ‘we're already on the ballot for a ballot initiative in Nevada.’ That push will continue, Gross says, ‘in as many states as it takes for Congress to wake up and get the message that this is something the people support.’"