For decades, federal gun safety legislation spurred by mass shootings has come and vanished in Washington despite pleas from victims, their families and poll after poll showing most Americans support some form of gun control.
Failures have been blamed on the National Rifle Association, fervent Second Amendment activists and opportunistic politicians fearful of offending the powerful gun lobbies and their gun-owning constituents.
Now, with a president in office who once succeeded in banning assault weapons, Democrats holding gavels in Congress, the NRA in financial shambles and the U.S. House disciplining a member who once claimed school shootings could be hoaxes, the political climate in Washington appears to be warming to doing more than talking about gun safety.