The gun lobby spends millions on electing politicians who block popular, commonsense proposals
Last night’s mass shooting in Boulder, Colorado was our country’s second in six days. Americans want action to reduce gun violence, but politicians in Washington beholden to the NRA and the gun lobby block even the most popular, commonsense measures to reduce gun violence.
The For the People Act would shine a light on dark money that fuels the gun lobby and would reform lobbying rules. Those changes would crack down on the gun lobby’s undue access and outsized influence that allows it to block bills that have over 90 percent support, like background checks for all gun purchases.
“The heart-wrenching shootings in Colorado and Georgia are a stark reminder of the outsized influence the NRA and gun lobby have over our government. They’ve effectively blocked every commonsense approach to ending gun violence by buying off politicians with their campaign checks and army of lobbyists. It’s a prime example of how the broken system in Washington is hurting American families. We must pass the For the People Act to shine a light on the gun lobby’s money and curb their influence,” said ECU // LAV Action Fund President Tiffany Muller.
Here are the facts:
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Nearly $130 million in outside money has been spent by the NRA since 2000.
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Gun groups have spent at least $92.9 million on lobbying since 2013, including lobbying against common sense reforms to improve campaign finance disclosure.
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99.6% of contributions from gun rights groups – a record $7.6 million – went to Republicans in the 2020 cycle.
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Only 8 House Republicans voted for a 2019 bill to expand background checks – despite 97% of Americans supporting such a proposal.
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Gun groups donated 34 times more money to members of Congress who voted for the NRA-backed ‘Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act’ than to members who opposed the bill.
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100-plus gun safety proposals were introduced but not passed from 2011-2016 while Republicans held the House majority.
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