Americans for Responsible Solutions will air an ad during President Obama's State of the Union address in which the gun reform organization's founder, former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords asks, "What is Congress afraid of?"
During the 2013 State of the Union, President Obama addressed the gun control issue, saying, "Gabby Giffords deserves a vote, the families of Newtown deserve a vote."
In April 2013, a bill to expand background checks on firearms failed in the Senate and the gun issue has since fizzled to the background of the national agenda.
"Nine out of 10 Americans support background checks as a commonsense measure to help keep guns out of the hands of criminals, terrorists and the dangerously mentally ill," said Pia Carusone, executive director of Americans for Responsible Solutions. "Congress continues to listen to the gun lobby instead of their constituents, so we're going to keep fighting at the state level to make our communities safer. It's too dangerous to wait."