Internet Explorer 11 is not supported

For optimal browsing, we recommend Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers.

Colorado Recalls Give Gun Debate More Ammo in Other States

Now those on both sides in the debate are raising money, developing new strategies and turning their focus to potential battles in at least half a dozen states.

The weeks after a gunman killed 20 schoolchildren in Newtown, Conn., were characterized by a new optimism about a goal that had seemed elusive for almost a decade: tougher gun laws. The shooting was called on more than one occasion “a game changer.”

In the nine months since, although supporters of stricter legislation have won some victories, those high hopes have been tempered by a series of losses, most notably in April when the Senate defeated several measures to strengthen gun restrictions and then last week in Colorado, where two state senators who had backed stronger gun laws lost recall elections.

The greatest successes of gun control supporters came in the form of sweeping new laws in a handful of Democratic-led states, including Maryland and New York, as well as in politically mixed Colorado. But more than two dozen states, most of them controlled by Republicans, moved in the opposite direction, broadly expanding the rights of gun owners.

Now those on both sides in the debate are raising money, developing new strategies and turning their focus to potential battles in at least half a dozen states.

Caroline Cournoyer is GOVERNING's senior web editor.
Special Projects