The National Rifle Association received a huge increase in donation in the third week of February, immediately following the Parkland, Florida school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
The gun lobbying group received $248,000 in individual contributions in January of 2018, according to CNN. The following month, after the tragic shooting made national headlines, they reportedly took in $779,000 — more than three times as much. Those figures come from the Federal Election Commission, which tracked the NRA’s Political Victory Fund.
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The sales of guns and accessories have often been markedly higher after mass shootings, as second amendment advocates fear that a massive overhaul will come. It never has, however, and that may be thanks in part to the loyal supporters of the NRA.
A nonpartisan research group called the Center for Responsive Politics tracked itemized contributions to the NRA before and after the shooting. Their data shows that donations of $200 or more by individuals doubled immediately following the massacre.
Researchers say that there’s no clear singular cause for the spike in donations, noting that the NRA often does outreach to members in times of need, but it may have also been caused by President Trump’s initial remarks after the tragedy, when he suggested that he might support tighter gun control laws.
That surge in donations was even before the NRA became the main target of the March For Our Lives activists, many of whom are student survivors from Stoneman Douglas High. The students have called on lawmakers to make a meaningful change to gun laws in the United States in order to change.
While they haven’t presented a unified plan of what those changes should be, most of them have agreed that politicians who accept massive campaign donations from the NRA can’t be impartial on the issue. The March For Our Lives rallies included efforts to register new or lapsed voters, and compel to vote out lawmakers aligned with the NRA.
The NRA’s Political Victory Fund makes contributions to the political campaigns of lawmakers that have gun rights-friendly platforms. However, it does not represent the totality of their spending and receiving money, CNN notes. The lobbying group reportedly spent $50.2 million in the 2016 election cycle, across seven key races, including that of President Donald Trump.
