As Congress fails to make progress on reforming the nation’s gun laws, state legislatures have filled the void. A number of states around the country, and not just deep-blue ones, have taken steps to crack down on gun violence. Even some very conservative states have defeated National Rifle Association (NRA) supported bills that would have significantly weakened state gun laws.

Here’s a run-down of ten instances of state progress that were in some cases mere proposals as recently as this January:

1. Colorado. A purple state with a strong gun culture, Colorado nevertheless enacted universal background checks and a ban on high-capacity magazines.

2. California. Governor Jerry Brown (D) signed legislation at the beginning of May that would provide $24 million for confiscating illegally owned weapons that the police have identified, but hasn’t had the resources to seize. California is also considering thirty-odd measures strengthening the state’s gun violence prevention measures.

3. Georgia. The Georgia legislature killed a bill at the end of the last legislative session that would have allowed concealed carry in churches, courthouse, and college campuses.

4. Maryland. Maryland enacted one of the most sweeping new gun laws in the country, including an assault weapons ban, restrictions on magazine size, and a requirement that all gun purchasers get a license and submit a fingerprint sample.

5. Rhode Island. The Ocean State’s legislature is considering an omnibus gun bill, supported by its governor, Lincoln Chafee (I), that would set up a police registry of guns to better track crime guns as well as make it harder to get a concealed carry permit.

6. Delaware. In early May, Governor Jack Markell (D) signed a universal background check bill into law.

7. Wyoming. The Wyoming legislature, which can be quite hostile to gun regulation, voted down a bill authorizing teachers to carry guns.

8. New York. New York strengthened its already strong gun laws, including stricter assault weapon and high capacity magazine bans.

9. Connecticut. Connecticut also passed a comprehensive package that included universal background checks for bullets as well as guns, as well as an assault weapons ban and magazine restrictions.

10. Nevada. Just this Wednesday, the Nevada Senate passed a universal background checks bill that would require a check on all private sales.

While several states have also loosened their gun laws after Newtown — and a few advanced laws so extreme that they are almost certainly unconstitutional – the above examples prove that the NRA’s stranglehold over the gun conversation isn’t nearly as tight as some believe, and that concerted effort at the state level can have significant effects on the gun policy landscape.

Gabriel Gomez, the Republican nominee to fill John Kerry’s open Senate seat in Massachusetts, Tweeted a stunning attack against his opponent Friday, claiming, without any apparent justification, that a campaign ad by Rep. Ed Markey (D) blamed him personally for the Newtown shooting.

Markey’s ad correctly notes that Gomez opposes a federal assault weapons ban and is also against a ban on high-capacity magazines. Gomez has explained his opposition to such weapon restrictions, saying “If they [gun buyers] all the checks and they’re qualified to use a weapon, I don’t think we need to restrict what kind of weapon they use.”

From the ad, titled “Clear Differences”:

NARRATOR: Real differences in the race for Senate: Ed Markey has taken on the NRA. He’ll continue to fight for common-sense laws to stop gun violence. And Gabriel Gomez? Gomez is against banning assault weapons.

GOMEZ (in clip): I don’t believe that we need to do an assault weapon ban.

NARRATOR: And Gomez is against banning high capacity magazines, like the ones used in the Newtown school shooting.

GOMEZ (in clip): I don’t believe that you should have a limit on the high-capacity magazines.

NARRATOR: The more you know, the clearer the choice.

Watch the spot:

Gomez tweeted Friday:

.@edmarkey‘s new TV ad blames me for the horrific Newtown shooting. Exploiting a tragedy for political gain is sick. bit.ly/12GQTEe

— Gabriel Gomez (@GomezForMA) May 17, 2013

In a press release making the same charges, Gomez also inaccurately claims: “The only gun measure before Congress is the Toomey-Manchin proposal for expanded background checks which, just as I do, Congressman Markey supports.” The Senate voted on an assault weapons ban and magazine restrictions last month, at the same time as the minority blocked expanded background checks.

In a January letter, asking for Gov. Deval Patrick (D) to appoint him to the vacant Senate seat, Gomez contradicted his current position, writing: “Two main issues that will dominate the political discussion during this appointment will be Immigration Reform and Gun Control. Given my Latino and Navy SEAL background, I have credibility to contribute thoughtfully on these issues. I support the positions that President Obama has taken on these issues and you can be assured I will keep my word and work on these issues as I have promised.”

You may start seeing more people carrying James Bond’s gun around — by law. A new proposed federal law would require that all new guns, and eventually all guns for sale, would be required to have “smart” identification technology that only allows specially authorized users to fire it, something the silver screen saw recently in Skyfall. The law is intended to crack down on gun accidents, thefts, and suicides, but its critics — including a major gun violence prevention group — worry that it might make the problem worse.

Introduced by Rep. John Tierney (D-MA), the Personalized Handgun Safety Act of 2013 would require that all guns manufactured for sale or put up for sale, would have to have some kind of “personalized” technology that limited the ability to fire the gun to its owner and any individuals authorized. Since this technology is not widespread now, these requirements would kick in within two years for manufacturers and three years for sellers. Affected sellers include both federally licensed retailers and private sellers.

The bill is technologically feasible. Several possible ways of building “smart” guns include firearms that only activate when you press a special ring into it, guns that won’t work until you enter a key code, guns that only fire if they detect a specific radio signal, and guns that recognize biometric info like fingerprints. Some smart guns are already available abroad, including one Irish design that automatically disables guns when they’re brought into properly equipped schools.

There’s some reason to believe these measures could be effective in reducing gun violence. Roughly ten to fifteen percent of crime guns are acquired by theft; an average of 232,400 guns are stolen per year. Presumably, a smart gun couldn’t be used by a thief.

So long as parents don’t give their kids biometric “permission” or leave their gun key lying around, then kids also wouldn’t be able to fire the gun. Adam Lanza couldn’t have brought his mother’s guns to Newtown absent her say-so were they smart guns. Some of the 900 kids who died in gun accidents or suicides last year may not have lost their lives.

“Even if smart guns disarmed only our dumbest, laziest criminals and other unauthorized borrowers like kids,” wrote Dave Guston and Ed Finn, two professors at Arizona State University, “the savings in lives could be tremendous.”
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On Mother’s Day, the mothers of four Newtown victims warned of the danger guns pose to children. Meanwhile, at least five families saw a child injured — or in some tragic cases killed — when a child obtained and accidentally discharged a loaded firearm in the week leading up to the holiday.

• On Monday a 4-year-old boy shot himself in the hand after removing a gun from his father’s safe in Indianapolis, IN. Thankfully, the boy was taken to the hospital and his injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.
• Monday evening a 3-year-old boy in Florida accidentally shot and killed himself with a handgun police believe he found in a backpack belonging to his uncle, who slept in the same bedroom of the apartment also shared with the boy’s parents. The uncle has been charged with culpable negligence, a 3rd degree felony.
• A 7-year-old Texas boy was accidentally shot in the lower back by his 5-year-old brother while taking a bath on Tuesday. The injuries were described by police as “non-life threatening” and no charges were filed against the parents for negligence as of Wednesday morning.
• A 2-year-old Texas boy tragically died after accidentally shooting himself in head Wednesday. The boy found a handgun in a bedroom while his father was in the walk-in closet.
• A 5-year-old boy is reported to be in critical condition after his 8-year-old friend accidentally shot him in the head with a .22 caliber rifle the night before Mother’s Day. Two adults and a teenager were in the home at the time of the shooting.

All of these tragic incidents likely could have been prevented if the children did not have access to the weapons, but 40 percent of households with kids under age 18 do not lock up their guns and almost half of U.S. states lack laws punishing individuals who allow children unsupervised access to firearms.

Guns kill twice as many children and young people as cancer, five times as many as heart disease, and 15 times more than infection each year in the United States according to the New England Journal of Medicine.

A Missouri bill that would make all federal gun laws “null and void” and criminalize enforcement of those laws was sent to Gov. Jay Nixon (D) Thursday, after it overwhelmingly passed the House this week by a vote of 118-36. If the bill is signed into law by the state’s Democratic governor, Missouri would become the second state to enact a nullification law that is clearly unconstitutional. After the enactment of a Kansas law containing similar provisions, Attorney General Eric Holder sent Kansas officials a letter warning that the Department of Justice would take Kansas to court over the issue. The bill also contains several other provisions to relax state gun laws. Fox News reports:

In addition to declaring federal gun laws unenforceable, the bill would allow concealed weapons to be carried by designated school personnel in school buildings. It would allow appointed “protection officers” to carry concealed weapons as long as they have a valid permit and register with the state Department of Public Safety. The officers would also be required to complete a training course.

The bill would also allow people with a firearms permit to openly carry weapons less than 16 inches in length even in localities that prohibit open-carry of firearms.

Privacy rights of gun owners have been a hot topic this legislative session after lawmakers learned the state Highway Patrol shared the list of concealed weapons permit holders with a federal agent in the Social Security Administration.

The legislation passed Wednesday would prevent people from publishing any identifying information on gun owners. A person who publishes such information would be guilty of a class A misdemeanor. It also would prevent doctors or nurses from being required to ask patients about firearm ownership.

The measure would also lower the minimum age required to obtain a concealed weapons permit from 21 to 19.

The bill’s nullification provision not only declares invalid all laws that ”infringe on the people’s right to keep and bear arms as guaranteed by the Second Amendment.” It also specifically states that several existing federal gun laws are void, including the Gun Control Act of 1968, even though that law merely sets forth the basic licensing system and list of prohibited gun purchasers and sellers that is now in place, and has not been deemed to violate the Second Amendment. The law also makes enforcement by federal officials a misdemeanor, and creates a private cause of action for Missouri citizens who are the subjects of federal enforcement to file a lawsuit for damages.

The bill even prohibits laws that impose “registration” and “confiscation” of guns, even though the failed bill in Congress to simply expand background checks would have included a provision explicitly banning a gun registry, and making its implementation punishable with jail time  –  a point that even gun rights organizations made during the National Rifle Association’s recent conference. But this is not the only recent Missouri bill to take an extreme and untenable position. The state Senate recently voted to entirely defund the state’s driver’s license bureau, citing gun confiscation worries, and both houses passed a bill to thwart a nonbinding United Nations resolution on sustainable resource development that conspiracy theorists warn will take away their freedom.

Rep. Steve Stockman’s (R-TX) official campaign Twitter account sent out a series of tweets on Wednesday evening offering one lucky American the chance to win an assault rifle. Not just any assault rifle, though, Stockman is offering the Bushmaster AR-15, the same rifle used in the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, CT:

I’m giving away a FREE Bushmaster AR-15! Sign up in just seconds at stockman2014.com/ar15-entry/ #tcot #teaparty #gop #tlot #rkba #nra #texasgop

— Rep. Steve Stockman (@ReElectStockman) May 8, 2013

Want to win a FREE AR-15? Congressman Steve Stockman is giving one away!Sign up at stockman2014.com/ar15-entry/ Grab this gun before Obama does!

— Rep. Steve Stockman (@ReElectStockman) May 8, 2013

In fairness to Stockman, his gun raffle is unusually compliant with federal law for someone who has threatened to work towards impeaching President Obama for seeking to expand background checks. According to the official rules listed on the campaign’s website, the newly minted assault rifle owner will have to go through this same supposed imposition on their freedom:

Firearms prizes must be claimed through a licensed firearms dealer in accordance with federal, state and local law. Firearms prize winners must meet all legal requirements and will be subject to a dealer’s background check.

This isn’t the first time Stockman’s campaign account pulled an outlandish stunt to gain donations or grow its email list. In April, the account sent out word that Stockman would be offering bumper stickers that read “If babies had guns, they wouldn’t be aborted.”

The National Rifle Association (NRA)’s overtures to children have come under fire after its annual conference last week, which advertised weapons for children and advocated storing firearms in kids’ rooms just on the heels of the fatal shooting of a two year old by her five year old brother. A ThinkProgress review of the NRA children’s magazine, InSights, found another piece of disturbing advice: kids should build target ranges inside their homes.

The article, “BB, It’s Cold Outside,” ran in the January 2013 edition of InSights. The spread features a picture of a young-looking boy holding a BB gun next to a fireplace, and is addressed to children who are “shooting a real gun now” but can’t wait to practice until it’s warm enough outside to make firing one fun. The NRA article recommends that, instead, the child build a home BB gun range to keep up.

While the article does tell kids to follow standard firing range safety rules and ask adult permission before setting up the indoor range, here are some other tips it offers:

– “Eliminate ricochet with a proper backstop. You have no idea how bouncy a tiny metal ball can be until you hear one whizzing by your head.”

– “There are plenty of indoor range setups you can find on the internet.”

– “You don’t want people opening a door or looking in a window to see a BB gun pointing at them.”

– “While you’re thinking of cool stuff to use as targets, also keep in mind how you’re going to set them up in your range. Hanging targets work great, by the way.”

– “When you’re trying to improve accuracy, BB guns are the best. If you have a habit of flinching when pulling the trigger, BB guns will help you work that out.”

The online edition of the article links to a previous InSights feature article, which helpfully reminds young children that “The first and most important thing to remember is that with air guns, any projectile that does not hit a proper pellet stop has a very high possibility of a ricochet or bounce back. This is particularly true with a BB gun using round steel projectiles.”

Though BB guns are powered by air rather than gunpowder, they’re still very dangerous. A 2009 study in the journal Pediatrics found that BB guns and similar weapons send roughly 22,000 Americans to the emergency room each year, the overwhelming majority of whom are children aged 5-14. These injuries have, in some cases, been fatal. The American Association of Pediatrics has concluded that these guns “are weapons and should never be characterized as toys,” partly because “the range of muzzle velocities for nonpowder guns overlaps velocities reached by traditional firearms.”

It’s also questionable whether young children can be trusted to accurately carry out all of the NRA’s safety instructions. Not only are young children notoriously clumsy and irresponsible, but it’s unclear whether, say, an eight year old is capable of understanding the difference in lethality and risk between BB guns and real firearms. The Savage Arms .22 “Rascal” .22 rifles, which are frequently advertised in InSights under the banner “One Shot! One Thrill!,” don’t look all that different from some BB gun models.

HOUSTON, TX — Two prominent gun rights groups are distributing literature taking apart the National Rifle Association (NRA)’s misinformation on the Manchin-Toomey background check bill — at the NRA’s own conference.

The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) bills itself as the second largest gun advocacy organization in the country. Its leader, Alan Gottlieb, also heads up the Second Amendment Foundation, a pro-gun legal action group that brought the case (McDonald v. Chicago) that required all states to treat handgun ownership as a constitutional right. The two organizations appear, judging from joint flyers distributed at the NRA conference, to coordinate.

CCRKBA kicked up a controversy in April, when it broke with the NRA to support the Manchin-Toomey expanded background checks bills. (The group later withdrew its support for Manchin-Toomey right before the vote because a pro-gun amendment it supported was not being considered.) But despite the bill’s (perhaps temporary) defeat in the Senate, CCRKBA doesn’t appear to be backing down — The Gun Mag, a Second Amendment Foundation publication, published an “NRA Meeting Special Issue” whose lead article takes apart the NRA’s line on Manchin-Toomey.

The article, written by former NRA Board member Dave Workman, takes an oblique shot at the NRA, which built its argument against Manchin-Toomey on the specter of gun registration and confiscation:

Gun rights activists across the nation believe the Schumer measure would establish a de facto gun registry due to a record keeping requirement. There is no record keeping provision in the Manchin-Toomey bill, and using background check information to create a registry would be punishable by up to 15 years in prison.[...]

The Manchin-Toomey alternative would provide for background checks on all commercial gun sales, including those done at gun shows and that originate on the Internet. An important exemption applies to transfers of firearms between family members, and private sales between friends and neighbors would also be exempt.

Though the Manchin-Toomey bill did not receive enough support to break a filibuster against it, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid used a procedural maneuver to ensure the bill could be reconsidered at a future date.