The Gun Control Version of MADD

That's how this Christian Science Monitor article described Moms Demand Action.

The number of gun control groups nationwide has doubled in the past year – some led by small coalitions of Sandy Hook survivors, others led by mothers not directly touched by the tragedy. Many experts cite Moms Demand Action as a growing legislative force on behalf of gun control, where suddenly state legislators across the US are being confronted by women demanding change – a kind of Mothers Against Drunk Driving redux.

The article, just one of many on the gun control landscape since last year's Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, goes on to point out that the number of pro-rights bills passed last year were more than double the number of gun control bills passed:

Moreover, since the Sandy Hook massacre, states have approved no fewer than 93 laws that protect and affirm gun rights – more than double the number of control laws. Because many of those new laws liberalized the carrying of concealed weapons, it’s basically easier to get and use a gun today than it was a year ago, Paul Barrett, author of “Glock: The rise of America’s gun,” told WBUR in Boston on Dec. 5.

I don't know if it is easier to get a firearm  than it was a year ago, but just as this blog did yesterday, the article noted that the states that passed restrictions, were states that already all but ban firearms:

In the past year, eight US states – mostly blue ones in New England and the coastal West, but also “purple” Colorado – approved gun control legislation. In New York and Connecticut, they weren’t merely symbolic changes, either, but rather bans on certain kinds of magazines and guns. The result in New York City, at least, is that some gun owners are getting letters from authorities demanding that they turn in their weapons.

As Sebastian pointed out yesterday, the New York Times had a great interactive piece on what states passed which laws.  Clearly, while we lost some battles, we won a lot more than we lost.  We just need to stay active as new legislative sessions will begin in January.