In the wake of more horrific mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, the United States finds itself yet again engaged in a morbid ritual of horror and grief, thoughts and prayers, and renewed calls for gun control. Last week, the National Rifle Association held its annual convention, during which it steadfastly opposed calls to limit access to guns.

But it has not always been that way.  The NRA, in earlier decades, supported restrictions on access to guns.  What happened?  How has the Second Amendment been re-interpreted?  What has prompted states to enshrine new protections on guns and access to them?  Adam Winkler, renowned national author of Gunfight​ and the Connell Professor of Law at UCLA, joins Then & Now to address these questions.