This year, five states have passed seven laws that strengthen gun restrictions, while 10 states have passed 17 laws that weaken them, says
The Wall Street Journal, citing data from the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which tracks and promotes gun control laws.
Kristin Goss, a Duke University professor of public policy who supports gun control legislation, says measures in New York, Colorado — and, as of Thursday, in
Connecticut — are more sweeping than the gun rights expansions in other states, which she calls "technical and incremental."
Nevertheless, the pattern shows the power of the gun lobby in state legislatures, particularly compared with gun control groups, which typically have focused on federal legislation, says the WSJ.
The National Rifle Association and other gun advocacy groups spent $2.3 million on state legislative debates from 2007 through 2012, compared with $55,000 by gun control groups over the same period, according to the Sunlight Foundation, a nonpartisan government watchdog group.
Backers of many of the bills since Newtown say arming school staff could prevent similar tragedies. Gun opponents disagree, and a report released Wednesday by the liberal Center for American Progress says it found "a clear link between high levels of gun violence and weak state gun laws."
Economist John Lott, author of "More Guns, Less Crime," says state laws allowing people to carry concealed weapons have reduced violent crime. The National Research Council has disputed his findings, the WSJ says.
Helping the pro-gun-rights cause is Republican control of 30 governorships and full control of most state legislatures, easing the path for gun rights measures, says the WSJ. Of the 15 legislatures that have sent pro-gun-rights bills to the governor, 13 are controlled by Republicans.
Gun control advocates are now largely focusing on seven states where they say there is a chance for significant gun control legislation, the WSJ says: California, Oregon, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland and Illinois.