by No ballot this fall will have a gun-related initiative led by voters.
Although seven states had tried to get 11 civilian-led gun referendums on the ballot this year, they all failed, according to Victoria Rose, who tracks the measures for the election database Ballotpedia.
Seven of the proposals supported expanding gun rights, including one in Oregon that would have created the right to carry concealed firearms without a permit, Rose said.
Of the four proposed reforms, voters in Washington state wanted to ban the sale of assault weapons, while voters in California proposed requiring trigger locks on firearms and annual renewals of gun permits.
None of the 11 proposals had enough signatures to move forward, Rose said, which is not surprising. Only six gun initiatives have come to a vote since 2000, she said.
The lack of gun-related ballot measures this year is a good thing, according to Christian Heyne, chief programs and policy officer at Brady, a gun violence prevention organization. Heyne said it’s a sign that state and federal lawmakers are passing gun laws, meaning voters no longer have to take matters into their own hands.
“We have seen a historic pivot and change in state legislatures across the country to proactively legislate,” Heyne said.
Since 2012, states have passed more than 620 gun safety laws, advocates said. In 2022, President Joe Biden introduced the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the most significant gun safety law in nearly three decades. It provided grants to states for “red flag laws,” improved background checks to include juvenile records, and increased background checks for people ages 18 to 21, among other things.
“Some of this is very much about how states have gone out of their way to do the right thing,” he said.
Heyne said progress today is “very different” from 2016, a unique year in which three states passed major gun restrictions.
That year, Nevada narrowly passed an amendment expanding background checks. Washington state broadly supported the implementation of a red flag law, which would allow police or family members to seek court orders to take away guns from people who could pose a threat. In a landslide, California voters have given the green light to proposals that would strengthen gun laws.
“Out of necessity,” Heyne said, “I think there was a tremendous increase in public demand for gun laws and a sense that if our legislature is not going to take action, we will take action ourselves.”
But Randy Kozuch, executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action, pointed out important ways gun rights have expanded in recent years.
In its first major ruling in a Second Amendment case in more than a decade, the Supreme Court has made it easier for millions of people to carry handguns in public in 2022. The court struck down a century-old concealed carry provision in New York that required gun owners who want to carry a gun outside their home to prove they have a unique need for self-protection.
Kozuch said the number of states with constitutional carry laws has also grown from 16 to 29 over the past three years, while 17 states have passed laws banning the tracking of firearms and ammunition purchases.
“Much to the dismay of gun control activists, Second Amendment rights have been protected and expanded by state legislatures and the judiciary,” he said. “The anti-freedom state legislators now see their unconstitutional laws being challenged in the courts.”
In the 2020 presidential election, there were no gun reform initiatives on the ballot — partly due to the pandemic, which derailed in-person signature gathering, according to The Trace, a nonprofit news site that covers gun violence.
In 2022, an approved measure in Oregon — which the NRA-ILA labeled the “nation’s most extreme gun control initiative” — banned certain ammunition magazines and required background checks and law enforcement-issued permits.
This year, the only state measure involving guns was introduced by Colorado lawmakers, who would need voter approval to impose taxes on firearms and ammunition.
Lawmakers hope the 6.5% tax on the production and retail sale of guns and ammunition will raise millions of dollars earmarked for mental health care, school safety and gun violence prevention, and other services.
At the local level, Memphis voters will be asked whether they should change the city charter to require a permit to carry a handgun, ban assault rifles and allow a red flag law.
Last week, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said he does not support the proposals but would not challenge them if passed by the City Council, even if they conflict with state law.
Tennessee’s law allowing adults to carry handguns without a permit went into effect in 2021. In May, the state passed a law banning local governments from enforcing red flag laws.
In a statement, Skrmetti said the ballot initiatives were a “useless stunt that wastes time and money” and will not change the law.
“This is Memphis’ fault and it will ultimately be Memphis’ fault that we pay for,” he said.
