Conclusion

In the wake of the December 2012 shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, many political observers predicted that gun control legislation was on its way. Yet immediate and significant opposition scuttled attempts to revisit a ban on “assault” weapons and high-capacity magazines. Policy change looked more likely in the area of background checks designed to avoid gun sales to criminals and the mentally ill. The bipartisan team of Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) advocated an expansion of background checks to purchases over the Internet and at gun shows; they obtained quick support from President Barack Obama and Majority Leader Harry Reid. When the bill failed to advance through the U.S. Senate, Obama blamed the National Rifle Association (NRA). Senators voted no on the bill, he said, because “they worried that the gun lobby would spend a lot of money and paint them as anti-Second Amendment.” ¹ He called it a “shameful day for Washington” and insinuated that members of Congress ignored the vast majority of their constituents because they feared the wrath of an interest group.