There is no serious grass roots movement in this country for gun control. They can bring money to the table, they can bring media, but they can’t bring the most important thing; votes. I did not point out this thread on the HuffPo about Obama’s endorsement by AHSA. I wanted a chance to see how many gun control advocates actually turned out. The answer was, not many. Plenty of Obama and Democrat ra-ras, many of which were eagar to assure that Obama wouldn’t take away anyone’s guns, but very few people actually advocating for restrictions. And this is a site full of the exact demographic who should be most in favor of restricting guns. Where’s the passion? If it wasn’t for the anti-gun groups hold on the media, no one would pay attention to them.
I have no doubt that there are a fair number of folks who would claim that they favor current levels or increased levels of gun control. Particularly after a shooting incident has been headline news for a day or two. But, as Sebastian notes, they aren't really any sort of movement. What organization they have is generally aimed at defusing the anti-gun positions of the politicians they support.
Contrast that with the grassroots movements dedicated to gun ownership, self-defense, concealed carry, recreational shooting, and hunting. There isn't much in the way of a circle of anti-gunbloggers on the web, though a few dedicated antis seem to spend a lot of time on the pro-gunblogger sites making trouble in the comments sections.
Right now there are a number of grassroots movements in support of gun ownership and self-defense, though often they don't overlap a whole lot. If the anti-gun lobby gains momentum (via a Democratic president, for instance) it will be important for the separate pro-gun groups to work together a bit more in order to hold the common enemy at bay.
