That said, the maximum realistic hope for new national laws barely meets the minimum standard for real progress. More is politically achievable — and should be made a priority — at the state level. Nine states plus the District of Columbia regulate ghost guns, while the Charleston loophole is closed in 20 plus D.C. Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, rattles off a list of wins since the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre: 13 additional states have passed or strengthened background checks, bringing the total to 21; 17 states and the District of Columbia have passed red flag laws, for a total of 19; and 29 states plus D.C. have strengthened law to keep guns from domestic abusers. "Early on, we realized that Congress is not where this begins, it is where it ends," said Watts, adding that gun-safety activists must do "the unglamorous, heavy-lifting, grass-roots activism in state houses and board rooms, because that is how you effect change in this country." There's ample room for improvement, even in New England. Massachusetts, which has the nation's lowest per capita rate of gun deaths, requires a firearms license necessary to purchase guns — and grants local law enforcement a say in whether an applicant receives such a license. To buy either a pistol or a long gun, a person first must apply to the local police chief for a license; the chief can deny an applicant's request if, based on reliable information, he or she deems the applicant a risk to public safety (or to himself). It's local police, after all, who are most likely to be aware of a person's violent inclinations or previous encounters with the law. That decision is appealable in court. The licensing system is a large part of what makes this state's laws so effective, says John Rosenthal, cofounder of Stop Handgun Violence. A ban on military-style assault weapons is also more likely to pass in some states, as are red-flag laws to allow the temporary removal of firearms from owners judicially deemed to be a danger to others or themselves. In Massachusetts, Rosenthal says gun-violence-prevention advocates have a new goal: Ban the in-state production of assault weapons, which already cannot be legally sold here. That would mean, for example, that Springfield-based Smith & Wesson, a division of American Outdoor Brands, could not produce military-style assault rifles for sale in other states at its large Springfield facility, where its long guns and pistols are manufactured.