When President Barack Obama announced he would not campaign for or endorse any candidate that doesn’t support stricter gun laws, it was another marker in a sea change in the discourse over guns in America.

Even in the absence of significant new federal legislation, the gun debate has been transformed since Newtown — and Aurora. And Tucson. And Chattanooga. And Fort Hood. And Charleston. And San Bernardino. And … the list goes on, tragically. Together, these mass shootings have brought so much public attention to gun policy and gun violence that the conversation has changed radically.

How? For many years before the Newtown shooting in December 2012, Democrats avoided talking about new restrictions on guns for fear of losing votes, especially in swing states. In 2008 and 2012, for example, candidate Obama downplayed gun control and emphasized his support of the Second Amendment. Now the Democratic presidential contenders are making gun control central planks in their platforms and it’s a litmus test for Obama’s support.

But does this new conversation mean that we are on the verge of meaningful change in America’s approach to guns? There are many signs of hope for advocates of gun control — and also cause for them to be concerned.

http://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/ucla-faculty-voice-america-is-no-longer-gun-shy-about-gun-control