The Movement for Gun Control

I was travelling a few weeks ago and emailed this article to myself about gun-control legislation getting shot down (sorry, bad pun) in the Senate. The defeat did come as a surprise given the growing momentum for tighter gun restriction among the American public, the bipartisan nature of a somewhat watered down and thus non-controversial idea to expand background checks (which 9 in 10 American support), and the moving appeal of parents of Newtown victims in Washington.

The blog post I drafted  in my head is now lost, but re-reading this piece, it was interesting to note how gun-control advocates are relying on a healthy mix of both formal and informal politics to challenge the pro-gun lobby and their supporters: 1) Shaming opposing Senators in their own state to force them to switch positions; 2) Helping put gun-control candidates in office to replace pro-gun politicians; 3) raise awareness and public consciousness through rallies, demonstrations, vigil, advertising, public forums etc...

Following the defeat, rormer Rep. Gabrielle Giffords wrote a scathing op-ed against the Senate. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) who voted against the expansion of the national gun ­background-check program has become one of the first targets of the movement. And potentially two Republicans may reconsider their vote following some changes to the current bill.  Some form of gun control will likely pass. Whether the measures are merely token offerings or substantively meaningful remains to be seen.