Summary: Donations to the NRA have spiked since February.
Weeks after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, its survivors have been fighting hard to change gun policies in the United States. Meanwhile, pro-gun supporters have been quietly giving more to the NRA, which has not backed down on its fight to uphold its interpretation of the Second Amendment.
According to CNN, donations to the National Rifle Association have spiked since the Parkland shooting which occurred February 14. According to a donations report from the Federal Election Commission, supporters’ donations have tripled from January to February.
On February 15, gunman Nikolas Cruz shot and killed 17 of his former classmates and staff at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, and he injured numerous others. Survivors of the tragedy have since organized a national school walkout and gun control march, appeared on television and on social media advocating for tighter gun restrictions, and have openly battled the NRA.
The Parkland activists prompted big gun retailers such as Dick’s Sporting Goods and Wal-Mart to change their minimum gun buying age from 18 to 21, and a federal law was passed to address school safety.
But those who side with the NRA and do not want gun control changes have been speaking with their wallets. CNN reported that in January, the organization collected $248,000 in individual contributions, and in February, they received $779,000.
“It’s no secret that interest in guns and gun sales — as evidenced by anecdotes and manufacturing numbers — have until recently gotten boosts from mass shootings. So it would stand to reason that donations to the NRA would get a bump as well,” CNN said.
The Center for Responsive Politics tracked the NRA donations and said that the spike in donations occurred in the last two weeks of February, which was after the shooting. They said it was unclear what had caused the spike, but factors could be NRA outreach or the national gun debate.
The Center for Responsive Politics told CNN that the NRA spent $50.2 million during the 2016 election cycle, and this money was spent on six Republican Senate candidates and President Donald Trump.
On March 24, thousands across the country marched to protest gun violence, and in response, the NRA wrote on Facebook that high-powered people were exploiting children to destroy Americans’ rights to bear arms.
“Today’s protests aren’t spontaneous,” the NRA stated. “Gun-hating billionaires and Hollywood elites are manipulating and exploiting children as part of their plan to DESTROY the Second Amendment and strip us of our right to defend ourselves and our loved ones.”
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