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Heller Took Big Money from the Gun Lobby. How Has He Returned the Favor?

Nov 01, 2017

Heller Has Benefited from $200,000 in Gun Lobby Cash

Washington, DC — One month after the deadliest shooting in modern American history, Nevadans are still waiting for leadership from Senator Dean Heller.

Heller, who may be best known for taking cues from his mega-donors rather than Nevadans, has a long history of opposing common-sense reforms that would keep the wrong guns out of the wrong hands. It’s no coincidence that Heller’s anti-reform record is in line with one of his biggest special interest sources of campaign cash. He has received support of over $200,000 from the gun lobby, including $100,000 in direct campaign contributions.

Heller has returned the favor to the gun lobby. Throughout his career, he’s done the bidding of the gun lobby. In the past two years alone, he made it easier for people with mental illnesses to buy guns, pushed a Reciprocity bill that would override state rights, and helped block a bill to stop suspected terrorists from buying guns. Following the mass shooting of elementary school students in Newtown, Heller voted against the bipartisan Manchin-Toomey bill to expand background checks to keep guns out of the hands of criminals because he feared retribution from the gun lobby.

With over $200,000 from the gun lobby is it any surprise that the most Dean Heller has to offer are “thoughts and prayers?”

“Senator Heller has a choice to make. Which is more important to him? Campaign contributions from the gun lobby or the safety of Americans. In the aftermath of the shooting in Las Vegas, this should be a no-brainer,” said Tiffany Muller, president of End Citizens United. “But Dean Heller lacks a spine – and I would add a heart – to stand up to his mega-donors. Dean Heller is in the pocket of the gun lobby, which has amassed unprecedented power through its political spending. He must be held accountable.”

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