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Donations to NRA tripled in month of Parkland shooting | Donations to NRA tripled in month of Parkland shooting |
(about 9 hours later) | |
Contributions to powerful gun lobby group the National Rifle Association (NRA) increased significantly last month in the wake of a mass shooting at a Florida high school. | |
Reports from the Federal Election Commission show donations to the NRA's Political Victory Fund tripled from January to February. On 14 February, a shooter armed with an AR-15 rifle killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. | |
The data indicates that as student survivors of the shooting began mobilising a mass movement calling for stricter gun control laws, gun advocates took action in a different way. | |
In January, the NRA collected almost $248,000 (£176,800) in individual contributions. In February, the gun-rights lobbying group received more than $779,000 (£555,000). | |
The Political Victory Fund contributes money to gun rights-friendly candidates that the NRA has endorsed. | The Political Victory Fund contributes money to gun rights-friendly candidates that the NRA has endorsed. |
The nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks political spending, tracked donations of $200 or more by individuals in the days before and after the Parkland shooting. | The nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks political spending, tracked donations of $200 or more by individuals in the days before and after the Parkland shooting. |
In the two weeks following the attack on 14 February, such donations to the NRA doubled from the previous two weeks. | In the two weeks following the attack on 14 February, such donations to the NRA doubled from the previous two weeks. |
The centre also found that the number of people contributing in the seven days after the shooting increased by almost 500 per cent from the week before. | The centre also found that the number of people contributing in the seven days after the shooting increased by almost 500 per cent from the week before. |
Last month after the shooting, two gun control groups, Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, spent $230,000 (£164,000) on a massive New York Times advert listing the names and telephone numbers of 276 members of Congress who “take NRA money but refuse to take action to pass gun safety legislation”. |