Legislatures in 38 states debating gun bills, the most since the NRA started keeping track in 2001

Is your state debating proposed restrictions on guns, or laws to allow heat to be packed on college campuses? You're not alone. In fact, at least 38 state legislatures are considering gun-related bills, and some have passed, reports Jennifer Steinhauer of The New York Times.

Much of the legislation "focuses on cutting off gun access to convicted criminals and the mentally ill and on improving methods to trace guns used in crimes," Steinhauer writes. "Underlying many of the proposals is an effort to redefine the gun debate as a law enforcement issue, rather than one that focuses on broad-based gun ownership, to sidestep prickly Second Amendment concerns. . . . Nearly a dozen states are considering forcing gun owners to report their weapons stolen or lost."

The 38-state figure comes from the National Rifle Association, which told the Times it has been tracking 208 gun bills, "the highest number since the gun group began monitoring state laws in 2001," Steinhauer reports. The group's chief executive, Wayne LaPierre, told her, “There has been a brick-by-brick restoration of the Second Amendment” over the past 10 years or so at the state level. “It is one of the most uncovered, fundamental sea changes in American politics.” (Read more)