The NRA Is Targeting San Jose’s Proposed Gun Law

Last week, Democrats marshaled a pair of gun control measures through the House—the first significant firearm regulations to pass the chamber in decades. Together, the bills would expand background checks to cover sales at gun shows and online as well as extending the review period from three to 10 days. Neither is likely to stand a chance of passing the Senate.

Despite the revival of gun control advocacy in the post-Parkland era, efforts to tighten regulations still face nearly insurmountable political obstacles. At the federal level, Republicans in Congress work in lockstep with the National Rifle Association to block gun bills from passing. When state or local governments think about gun legislation, they face the prospect of preemption from higher up the legislative ladder. Not only do local measures need to be constitutional policies that can pass the local council—“common-sense” in the popular parlance—these bills must be robust enough to withstand challenges from state and federal lawmakers.