Groups advocating for stricter gun laws have been gaining political influence over several elections. Their momentum has been fueled by public outrage over mass shootings in schools and public spaces, as well as daily gun violence. Gun-control advocates, along with many Democrats, perceive new opportunities emerging due to the staunch positions held by the gun lobby and their prominent ally, former President Trump. They also point to controversies surrounding the National Rifle Association, which has undergone leadership shuffles and membership declines after a key former executive accepted vacations from group vendors. “It is a false choice to suggest that you have to be in favor of the Second Amendment or you want to take everyone’s guns away,” said Vice President Kamala Harris during a series of White House and campaign events focused on gun violence, reports the Associated Press. President Biden speaks Tuesday at a conference hosted by Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund.
Biden’s campaign says gun control could be a motivating issue for suburban college-educated women who may be decisive in several key battlegrounds this fall. The campaign and its allies have circulated clips of Trump saying, “We have to get over it,” after an Iowa school shooting in January and telling NRA members in May that he “did nothing” on guns during his presidency. Trump has spoken twice this year at NRA events and was endorsed by the group in May. He alleged that Biden “has a 40-year record of trying to rip firearms out of the hands of law-abiding citizens.” About 7 in 10 college-educated women who voted in the 2022 midterm elections supported stricter gun control laws, although fewer than 1 in 10 named it as the top problem facing the country, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of voters. An AP-NORC poll in August 2023 found that about 6 in 10 independent voters said they wanted stricter gun laws. Only about one-third of Republicans wanted more expansive gun legislation while about 9 in 10 Democrats were in support.