When did the gun lobby get so scary? In 1993...

The assault weapons ban was passed. I don't remember the political cost, but I don't think that that was primary reason we lost the house and senate in '94.

Or was it that gun violence of the eighties and early nineties prompted a call to action, and thus it was politically more feasible to pass gun control legislation.

I just don't understand what makes the gun lobby so terrifying, compared to say Pharma, or the energy lobby. I don't recall the last memorable election ad put up by the NRA. You would think that after all these tragedies it would be easier to take on the gun lobby.

Or maybe it's because of the steady decline in crime that gun control legislation has taken a back seat to bigger priorities, like the two wars we've been through, ACA, fiscal cliff, etc.