When WWII ended, and half the men (many who were war heros) in this country brought back a firearm and started looking for ways to keep shooting (target, gun clubs, hunting, self protection), guns were a very accepted part of society. That also dovetailed nicely with the American revolution, and the importance of gun ownership in the establishment of our country--something taught in every school in the country.
Then as those WWII soldiers had familys, SOME of them introduced their kids to shooting sports, some did not.
Then those kids grew up to be parents, and SOME of them introduced their kids to shooting sports, some did not.
The group dynamics of the situation is that each generation, you get a smaller and smaller populace that is knowledgeable with shooting sports. At some point you get an equilibrium, which is probably around where we are now.
Also, along the way the guns started to get some very bad press. Thinks like Al Capone (bad guy) vs Elliot Ness (on the surface good guys, but guys who abused the constitution to further their agenda). Fast forward to today with nut jobs shooting innocent people, and we have a growing PR dissaster.
We tend to get the politicians we deserve! If most of Massachusetts voters are not involved in shooting sports, then they are going to not care if the elected politicians vote one way or the other.
Seems we:
1) have to do all we can to allow no further errosion of our gun rights
2) get a lot more young people into the sport, before it is too late. For instance, I think signining up every kid or adult friend you know to the basic hunter safety course is a good first start! I would like to see those classes overflowing with new young hunters (future voters) in the state!