What Has NRA Lobbying Really Done to Gun Control

     As stated in a current New York Times article, gun lobbying efforts and the detriment of public safety has brought about a "sorry state of gun control."  Also mentioned was that workers in the National Tracing Center are highly backlogged on handwritten paper records submitted by the nation's gun dealers, leaving possible gun control crimes hidden for months.  Crime continues to progress, tens of thousands of gun deaths included, as government employees sit helpless with endless work ahead of them.
     The Washington Post described the National Tracing Center's dilemma to roadblocks and internal damage brought to the table by aggressive, bipartisan gun lobbyists.  It is almost certain that the NRA has more power in law than the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).  The ATF is underfunded, short staffed, and is failing to fight back against powerful gun lobbyists who seem to give gun owner's limitless rights.  The Bureau is assigned to 115,000 gun dealers with only 600 agents, which is around one agent per 112 gun stores/dealers.  There is too large a gap in these numbers, leaving some dealers with eight-year gaps between record and store inspections.
     Also mentioned in the article is fairly recent obstructions in Congress, where police can no longer consult the ATF archives of gun traces from dealer to owner.  The "ATF Reform and Firearms Modernization Act" potentially provides violators with protections against police dealing with their crimes.
     I am not entirely in agreement with this article, referring to all pro-gun lobbyist' actions as negative.  I do feel that some lobbyists/ interest groups have too much power when it comes to influencing legislation, but I also lay some blame on the government itself.  Had the ATF been properly funded, they could resist, inspect, and operate effectively with the influence of lobbyists.