In Oregon and Washington, the loophole where criminals can buy a gun as long as it's not at a gun store was recently closed. No need to give up.
I don't mean to sound like I've given up. I'll continue to support common sense regulation on arms. But I just don't have the sense that there can be movement here. I really do think that after all those kids getting got down and the same week the NRA proposed the solution was more guns in the classrooms on the teacher's hips...that said it all. America either agreed, disagreed, or didn't bother to engage. Bottom line is that there wasn't an uproar either from the population and certainly not from our politicians. I think we have to wait for the Dems to control both houses and the presidency and have some more kids gunned down all at the same time. Then maybe. But the actual reality is that there's only so much we can ever do without a constitutional amendment. The pro-gun lobby is actually correct in many instances that any given piece of proposed legislation often wouldn't stop the actual crime that propelled it. We're allowed to have guns. If you have a gun you have a gun.
It is very discouraging to watch the conversation after one of these shootings when you're anywhere left of the NRA. I disagree with the NRA that this dude would have stabbed 12 people, "successfully" killing at least 2, if he hadn't had a gun. I do think it's easy for criminals and other loonies to get guns in spite of existing laws, which is why we need better existing laws.
Well politically the NRA is a massive force for intimidation. Right after Sandy Hook there was support for some fairly mild gun control where it doesn't exist, but all it took was the NRA making an example with some attack ads and that was that. Americans certainly wouldn't support sweeping gun control legislation, but even those minor changes they might support won't happen as long as the NRA can just scare politicians into submission.