With the U.S. Senate expected to take up gun legislation next week and recent passing of gun laws in Connecticut, Colorado and Maryland, we put together a tool kit on the issues around gun rights and gun control. For more information, you can follow the money, influence and news on the issue of gun control and gun rights in the U.S. at our resource page.

Keep reading for information about state legislation, swing votes in the Senate, political spending by gun rights and gun control groups, details on how they lobby Congress and where they are airing TV issue ads.

State Bills

• Bill around assault weapons
• Bills that would nullify federal gun control laws
• Bills that relate to guns in schools (mostly allowing them; a few restricting)

• Legislation related to guns on school grounds has come up in at least three dozen states.
• At least 36 states introduced bills to nullify any gun control measures that Congress enacts since January.
• 40 states plus the District of Columbia do not make data available about who owns a gun or has received a state permit to carry a gun.

• Spreadsheet of all of the state firearms legislation, provided by the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, as of February.

Republicans

We tallied state and federal political donations given by gun rights and gun control groups covering direct contributions to candidates, parties and PACs since 1989.

• 51 percent of the new members in Congress received funding from the National Rifle Association’s political action committee at some point in their political careers.
• Of the Senate’s 100 members, 42 received contributions this past cycle and exactly half have received contributions at some point in their career. All told, 88 percent of Republicans now in Congress have received a contribution from the NRA at some point in their career, as have 11 percent of Democrats.
• NRA’s scored a 0.83 percent return on investment for the $18.6 million spent by the group’s PAC and the group’s legislative arm, the Institute for Legislative Action, to influence last year’s presidential and congressional contests.

• Gun rights and gun control political contributions to federal and state candidates since 1989
• NRA Contributions to House members
• NRA Contributions to Senators

• Find who got money in your state
• House in 2012
• Senate in 2012

Lobbying

A review of federal lobbying disclosures by Sunlight shows that at least 29 people newly registered in 2013 on the issues of gun control or gun rights. Among gun control groups, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and Mayors Against Illegal Guns hired new firms. Other companies hiring firms to lobby on gun issues include: the National Association of Police Organizations, Patton Boggs LLP for SST, ShotSpotter, Inc. and Monument Policy Group for Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc.

Check out this infographic on NRA vs. Brady Campaign lobbying spending since 1998.

TV Ads

Using Sunlight’s Political Ad Sleuth database, we found that at least five issue groups are actively airing gun-related TV ads in major media markets so far this year. Advertisers include:

• Americans for Responsible Solutions (gun control) – Los Angeles and Washington, DC
• Democracy for America (gun control) – Washington, DC
• Mayors Against Illegal Guns (gun control) – Albuquerque, Atlanta, Charlotte, Cleveland, Denver, Greensboro, Harrisburg, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Milwaukee, Norfolk, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, Washington, DC
• MoveOn.org (gun control) – Columbus, Washington, DC
• National Association for Gun Rights (gun rights) – Norfolk

Check out this interactive map how all issue groups are airing TV ads in top 50 media markets since January.