ALAN FRAM, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Gun control groups say they plan to spend tens of millions of dollars this fall to help congressional candidates backing firearms curbs.

That means their campaign spending could finally match the National Rifle Association’s after years of being drubbed by the gun lobby.

Yet gun control groups’ long awaited parity with the NRA comes at a time when firearms violence is not a top public concern. That’s a turnabout from the months following the December 2012 massacre of 20 first-graders plus six elementary school aides in Newtown, Conn.

Both sides in the gun debate plan heavy campaign spending over the next few weeks anyway. That’s because there are many close races where a few votes could matter — especially in the Senate, which each party hopes to control next year.