ANALYSIS — That almost nothing has changed in federal gun policy since Newtown or Parkland or any mass shooting before or after belies the enormous transformation underway in the lobbying and political landscapes of the issue.

Gun safety groups now operate a lot more like their opponents: amassing a national network of grassroots activists that descend on Capitol Hill and show up in lawmakers’ districts; spending big on political campaigns; and retaining some of the biggest names on K Street, firms that also represent the likes of Amazon and Goldman Sachs.

The combined lobbying efforts of gun control organizations — including Everytown for Gun Safety, Giffords, and March for Our Lives Action Fund — is on pace this year to spend the most they ever have on federal lobbying, reporting more than $1.2 million so far, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. It’s still a fraction of the nearly $5.5 million the other side, including the National Rifle Association, has shelled out on lobbying. But it indicates a deeper shift that portends a potentially dramatic change on the horizon when it comes to the gun policy debate.

“The tide has definitely turned throughout America,” said Rep. Jason Crow, a freshman Democrat from Aurora, Colorado, who beat an NRA-backed lawmaker, Republican Mike Coffman, in 2018. Crow, a military veteran and gun owner himself, said he feels the presence of gun control activists at home and on Capitol Hill, including the signature red shirts of Moms Demand Action.

“I agree with them,” he added, noting that they’ve grown fed up with federal inaction. “If you’re an elected official, unwilling to take action … you will not be able to shake them this election cycle.”