Despite overwhelming support by the public, expanded background checks for gun purchases went down during their first vote in the U.S. Senate. The proposal has also been defeated in a number of state legislatures. Most blame the power of the gun lobby, represented by the National Rifle Association.

A group of activists in Washington state — where the proposal died in the legislature — plans to bypass lawmakers altogether by putting the proposal on the ballot. TheAi??Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility will today launch a drive to get 300,000 signatures to place universal background checks for gun purchases on the ballot in November 2014. Watch a local news report on the ballot drive:

Recall that polling in the state found that 79 percent of voters favored universal background checks.

As we’ve argued before, putting popular, progressive policies on state ballots — like a hike in the minimum wage — not only provides an alternative route for passing these initiatives but also serves to boost progressive voter turnout.

Weai??i??re running newspaper ads in the states of the four Senate Democrats who helped kill expanded background checks. Click here to pitch in $3 to run them.