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One recent afternoon, Susan Beehler, who may be the only gun-control advocate in all of North Dakota, walked into VFW Post 762, a dimly lit, wood-paneled bar in downtown Fargo. 

It was, perhaps, the gun-friendliest place in one of the gun-friendliest states in America; a state where gun rights are so sacred that violent felons can have them restored, where guns are so ordinary that a handwritten flier for high-capacity ammunition clips was recently posted on a grocery store bulletin board,Women Canada Goose Resolute Parka. next to one for a pinochle tournament. 

Still, Beehler was optimistic. She headed for a table in the corner, where two men wearing flannel buffalo plaid were sipping drinks. 

"Hello there!" she said. "I'm with the Million Moms for Gun Control group, and we're looking for responsible gun owners!" 

Dick Coleman, who owns 15 guns, and Pete Schlenker, who owns 33, nodded. 
"We're just moms interested in reasonable controls that people can live with," she continued, trying to sound nonthreatening. "Like limiting the number of bullets in magazines? Or universal background checks? That kind of thing —" 

"Yep," Schlenker said. Coleman just sipped his drink. Beehler, a little nervous, kept on with her pitch, unsure where it was all going. 

President Barack Obama, speaking after the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, that left 20 children and six adults dead, said he was sure that "the vast majority of responsible, law-abiding gun owners" would support gun-control measures such as universal background checks or a ban on assault rifles. He appealed to the grassroots: Passing the new laws would require "a wave of Americans . . . standing up and saying ‘enough' on behalf of our kids." 

The White House strategy is all the more critical in states such as North Dakota, where Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat with an A rating from the National Rifle Association, was elected in November. Winning over Heitkamp and other Democrats from gun-friendly states such as New Mexico, Indiana and West Virginia is the least of what the White House must accomplish to pass changes to gun laws,Shop the latest collection of monster beats cheap from the most popular stores . to say nothing of securing the necessary Republican votes. 

At the moment, though, there is virtually no ground game toward that end in North Dakota. Democrats are laying low on the issue. Obama's vaunted campaign machine, now called Organizing for Action, has not organized any action. 

One Washington-based group,The Canada Goose Constable Parka is a stylish down jacket made in Canada. the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, did try running full-page ads blasting Heitkamp — "Shame on you," they read — after she described the president's proposals as "way in the extreme of what I think is necessary or should even be talked about." But that did not seem to have much effect. 

And so for now, the cause of gun control in North Dakota is in the hands of Susan Beehler, 54, mother of five and occasional civic gadfly whose past causes have included dairy farmers, baby seals, arthritis and abolishing property taxes, none of which affected her like the Sandy Hook shootings. 
She had sat for hours watching the news from Newtown unfold in her living room and vowed to do something. A few weeks later, she started a North Dakota chapter of a group called One Million Moms for Gun Control and started studying up on assault rifles and statistics on gun deaths. 

She more or less agreed with what Obama had said about gun owners. As a North Dakotan who grew up around guns and once sold them at Woolco in the 1980s, she felt qualified to take on the cause. She would canvass for support. She would venture into bars and have reasoned conversations. 

"I'm the lone ranger!" she said as she went public with her Million Moms Facebook page. (The organization has since changed its name to Moms Demand Action.) 

A few hours later, came the first two respoThe Canada Goose Victoria Parka is simple, yet classic, and designed to be worn where extreme weather protection is a necessity.nses: One was a photo of a man shooting a rifle along with a suggestion that she learn how to use one. The other read, "Shame on you." 
Beehler, who does not own a gun, joked that her life insurance policy was up to date. "Hopefully I can find a few other brave souls," she said. 

A couple of days later, Beehler noted 19 "likes" on her Facebook page. Roughly half were from out of state. Someone from New Orleans had sent her a rap video about gun control that stuck in her head. An old colleague expressed support, though she was unwilling to "go public," as she put it. Beehler had met two other women in Fargo who were willing to help. 

Now she was pulling into the snow-packed parking lot of Scheel's, a sporting goods chain that gained national attention recently for helping the West Fargo Hockey Association with a 200-gun raffle of Remingtons and Glocks. 

Beehler figured it was a good place to canvass gun owners, and she had prepared a stack of fliers with her group's Facebook address and logos of little hearts. 
It was freezing outside, which made her artificial hips ache. She zeroed in on a man in camouflage across the parking lot, applied lipstick and climbed out of the car. 

"Hi there!" yelled Beehler, a solitary figure with blazing red hair shuffling across the snow. "I'm starting a group called a Million Moms for Gun Control, and I was wondering about your feelings on reforming gun laws?" 

"As long as you don't want to take my guns away," the man said, taking a flier and hurrying along. 
Beehler trotted over to a man in a shearling jacket — "I'm busy," he said — and then stopped a woman with two boys wearing camouflage jackets. 

"No thank you," she said after Beehler made her pitch. 
A man with a thick mustache and cowboy hat was heading in her direction. 

"Excuse me," Beehler said, introducing herself. "What we'd like the discussion to be about is responsible gun ownership, not ‘guns or no guns.' So I was wondering, do you think I'm a crazy lady?" 

"No," said the man, smiling. 
"What's your idea of gun control?" she asked, deciding that she should be solicitous rather than argumentative. 

"I think there should be better background checks," he said. 

"I see. And what about assault weapons, do you think people need those?" 
"No one needs those,Womens Canada Goose Kensington Parka Hyacinth." he said and took one of the fliers in a gloved hand. 

It was snowing, and Beehler was emboldened. She decided to try an indoor venue, and headed over to the Veterans of Foreign Wars hall. 

Although roughly half of all North Dakotans own guns, what people there as a whole think about the gun-control proposals in play is something of a mystery.
There are no recent state polls on the issue. A recent gun-rights rally outside the state Capitol in Bismarck drew about 100 people amid the chilly winter weather. Newspapers have published letters on both sides of the issue. In January, state legislators introduced bills to allow people with permits to carry concealed guns in schools and churches, and another that would punish police who enforce any future federal gun law changes.