A gun-control organization backed by billionaire Michael Bloomberg that enlists mothers to speak out against gun violence is racking up some modest victories around the U.S., employing the state-by-state strategy used so effectively to fight drunken driving and expand gay rights.

Everytown for Gun Safety and its subsidiary, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, have helped push six states since 2013 to adopt more background checks on gun sales – what they consider the single most important measure to prevent shootings. They have also helped thwart legislation in several states that would make it easier to obtain firearms and carry them in more places such as schools.

Demonstrators march across the Brooklyn Bridge to call for tougher gun control laws last year in New York. The protest was underwritten by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, one of the most visible gun control advocates in the U.S., and included relatives of some of those slain in the 2012 rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Associated Press photos

The mighty National Rifle Association still has the upper hand in many places. But Everytown, which aspires to become the NRA’s counterweight, has certain advantages over prior gun-control campaigns, namely more money, strategic support from the former mayor of New York, and a network of activist moms whose numbers are growing in reaction to mass shootings.

CONVERGENCE OF CAUSES

“We merged the head and the heart,” said Everytown president John Feinblatt, who was a top mayoral aide to Bloomberg. “We have the smartest lawyers in the country working on this issue, but we also have people who will do anything to make sure their families are protected.”

Everytown grew out of the merger last year of the Bloomberg-backed Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action, which was formed after the 2012 killing of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

After Congress rejected a move to expand background checks following the Sandy Hook tragedy, activists turned their attention to statehouses, seeking what they say are modest, commonsense laws.

Bloomberg last year pledged $50 million to support Everytown and other gun violence prevention efforts. The nonprofit organization claims more than 75,000 donors and says 3.4 million people have expressed support for its cause by signing up for its email list, including hundreds of shooting survivors and victims’ loved ones.

In its most recent tax filing, Everytown reported $36 million in spending in 2013. The 5 million-member NRA spent $290 million that year and remains a potent force in states.

SETBACK IN MAINE

A new law in Maine, for example, allows legal gun owners to carry concealed handguns without a permit, wiping out a mandatory permit system that had been in effect for nearly a century. It was a defeat for Everytown, which ran TV, radio and digital ads across the state against the bill.

Texas lawmakers gave the gun lobby its best session in 20 years, passing bills to allow those with permits to carry guns in plain sight and to carry concealed weapons on college campuses. Yet even there, lobbying from gun-control supporters helped obtain a significant concession that will allow university administrators to carve out gun-free zones.

Bloomberg’s financial backing has caught the attention of the NRA.

“That is our biggest concern here – the amount of money he has and is committing to this,” said Catherine Mortensen, a spokeswoman for the NRA Institute for Legislative Action.

Still, she said that Everytown is no match for the NRA and depicted Everytown as a shallow front for Bloomberg’s agenda.

The two sides are expected to continue tangling in the coming election year over bills, ballot measures and state legislative races.

Everytown’s goals include background checks on all firearm purchases, including those at gun shows and over the Internet; laws preventing domestic abusers from possessing guns, legislation it has helped pass in several states; and safe gun storage programs to protect children from deadly accidents.

Oregon recently became the latest state to extend criminal background checks to private gun sales after Everytown helped elect two more Democrats to the Senate last year. The organization also helped gather enough signatures to put such a measure on the 2016 ballot in Nevada and is pushing for a similar vote in Maine.

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