Progressive groups are behind a wave of tougher restrictions on firearms, wielding a quiet power that Second Amendment proponents worry could unravel gun rights in friendly territory.
Earlier this month, Virginia lawmakers sent a spate of gun bills tightening firearms restrictions to Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s (D-VA) desk. It’s a development fueled by Moms Demand Action, and one that one of the country’s most prominent pro-gun rights organizations fears foreshadows things to come in other purple states.
“Virginia is a purple state, and so having this sweeping, massive gun control package in the state that’s got a lot of gun owners, to see that happen and happen so rapidly should really be alarming to everybody in this country,” National Rifle Association’s Director of Public Affairs, Justin Davis, told the Washington Examiner.
“It’s really just a blueprint of what’s to come in this country. This is a trial balloon for the midterm elections,” he said. “They’re seeing what they can pass in a purple state? What is the backlash from that? And how do people react?”
What happened in Virginia?
Moms Demand Action, part of a nationwide gun control advocacy group called Everytown, was one of the progressive groups that drove passage of five priority gun control bills through the Virginia legislature this year.
“For years, we have been doing the heavy lifting—knocking on doors, meeting with lawmakers, and even working to get our own volunteers elected into office,” Kelly Johnson, a volunteer with the Virginia chapter of Moms Demand Action, said. “Today’s victory in the Senate is a powerful reminder that the voices of survivors and advocates are finally louder than the gun lobby.”
The legislation tightening regulations on “assault weapons,” magazines, and ghost guns was passed after Moms Demand Action helped recruit a slew of pro-gun control candidates and propelled them into office. Moms Demand Action volunteers-turned-candidates made up 20% of the historic incoming House Democratic majority headed into 2026, according to the group. All 13 Moms Demand Action volunteers won their races for the House of Delegates, flipping four seats. Spanberger was also a former volunteer before flipping the governor’s seat blue last year.
Davis said many such state races can be “so easily” flipped with small “injections“ of cash. Due to progressive activism, every state is “ripe for flipping at any time,” he said.
“To think that the stuff they’re pushing here is happening in Virginia should wake up every single purple state in the country, any place that is, it was in the realm of what a ‘moderate state’ is that there’s a very well-trained, very concerted effort to get progressives elected positions,” Davis said. “There are people who literally look at these races, race by race, and say, ‘How do we make sure that we can flip this for a broader scale, to flip this state to pass these same leftist laws?’”
Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund ran a $1 million ad campaign last year to put Spanberger in charge of Virginia, in addition to a $400,000 investment promoting pro-gun control candidates in multiple key state legislative battleground districts.
The pressure campaign helped propel a blue wave in the legislature and the subsequent passage of historic gun control measures. Brady United, one of the leading progressive groups that worked with Everytown’s Moms Demand Action, GIFFORDS, and other organizations, hailed the moment as a “blueprint” for future victories.
“Virginia has provided a blueprint for how to elect GVP [Gun Violence Prevention] candidates and now can lead the nation in passing laws to keep our families and communities safe,” volunteer Lori Haas said.
Beyond VA: Gun control groups influence state legislatures
Minnesota, Maine, Vermont, and New Jersey are among other states on the horizon for gun control activists.
Davis said that in places like Maine, there are many pro-gun Democrats. But he warned that progressive factions are taking over and seeking to push more moderate views out of the arena.
“The problem is not Democrats, it’s not the broader brand. … I have plenty of friends who are Democrats who are avid gun owners and gun enthusiasts,” he said. “The problem here is that these progressive politicians have really hijacked these state legislators across the country.”
In contrast, Davis said the NRA wants people to understand that going to the Left on guns makes it harder for citizens to protect themselves.
“We understand the fact that when there’s an imminent threat to somebody, you know, calling 911 is obviously important,” he said. “But when the seconds count, the police are only minutes away. And for some people, that’s a risk they’re willing to take. Other people take a bit more realistic approach and want to take their family safety seriously and put it into their own hands.”
In Minnesota, GIFFORDS and Everytown wrote letters backing a bill targeting “ghost guns,” which would prohibit the possession and sale of guns made at home with 3D printers or assembly kits, while also requiring any current owner to obtain a serial number. A Senate committee voted on Monday to advance state Sen. Ron Latz’s SF 3661, despite opposition from Republicans who argue federal law already bans undetectable firearms and that privately manufactured guns have long been permitted in the United States.
“The way something is manufactured shouldn’t matter,” Minnesota NRA director Brian Gosch said, “because regardless, if you are a prohibited person and you’re possessing, selling, or trying to manufacture, it’s already against the law.”
Democrats hold a one-seat majority in Minnesota’s state Senate and are tied with Republicans in the state House, making passage of tough gun laws a battle, though not impossible.
In 2010, passage of the bill would have been likely impossible as the GOP held power in both chambers of the state legislature. But progressives have made steep gains in recent years. By 2022, Democrats held a trifecta of control across the legislature and the governor’s office, with activists hailing the state as a laboratory for progressive policy in a state viewed as having generally moderate leanings.
“We can pass legislation that seems a bridge too far in other states. And it’s especially valuable for a state like Minnesota,” progressive Democratic consultant Kari Moe told NBC News at the time. “It says: “We’re not Massachusetts. Minnesota is still, in many ways, culturally as a whole state very moderate.”
In Maine, lawmakers this week rejected two Republican-led proposals to overturn recently passed gun-control laws. One of them, a red flag law, was passed by voters last November despite opposition from the state’s Democratic leader, Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME). The Maine Gun Safety Coalition, a progressive group in the state, sponsored the red flag measure, shepherding it across the finish line last year.
The development came as progressives have wielded increasing control over Democrats in the legislature since the 2022 elections. At the time, roughly two-thirds of the legislative candidates pushed by the progressive Maine People’s Alliance won their elections. Such voices have since grown more powerful, including during a budget battle last year over the state’s $320 million plan.
Maine and Minnesota are now among several states being targeted by the Progressive Turnout Project. The group announced last week that it is spending over $44 million on five initiatives aimed at turning out voters ahead of this year’s midterm elections, including statewide programs.
Davis said that Maine, a rural state, is still a pro-Second Amendment area with “some very strong pro-gun” Democrats. But progressives are coming in strong in the urban hotspots, he said.
“Your Portland, your Lewistons, your Bangors, they are really spreading that message of, we need to pass these really progressive policies throughout the state,” Davis said.
In Vermont, a gun control bill is on the table this year despite gains Republicans have made in state politics. The GOP saw a good year elections-wise in 2024, picking up 19 seats in the House and six in the Senate, ending the Democrats’ supermajority. And Republican John Rodgers was elected lieutenant governor roughly one year ago, flipping a seat red that had been held by progressive Democrat David Zuckerman, and marking the first time in 14 years that Vermont’s governor and lieutenant governor hailed from the same party.
Still, H.606, sponsored by State Reps. Angela Arsenault and Martin LaLonde, advanced out of the House Judiciary Committee on Monday. The bill, which includes a hotly debated provision barring people from owning or buying guns while they are under a current court order to receive outpatient mental health treatment, is being pushed by the Vermont chapter of Moms Demand Action.
“Today’s vote is a powerful step toward a safer Vermont and a clear signal that our leaders are listening to the families who have lost too much to gun violence,” said Suzanne Lourie, a volunteer with the group.
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In New Jersey, the Left also could see expanded opportunities to tighten gun laws. Democrats flipped three seats to secure a supermajority in the state Assembly last November and saw the election of seven new progressive members. The state’s new leader, Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), also came to power after being endorsed last year by BradyPAC, a powerful pro-gun control group that saw 27 “Brady priority bills” signed into law in 2025.
Several bills making their way through the legislature include Assemblyman Michael Venezia’s Assembly Bill A442 and Sen. John McKeon’s Senate Bill S2309, which broaden firearms classified as prohibited assault weapons.
