NEW REPORT: Record-Breaking Gun Lobby Campaign Expenditures Fuel Dangerous Influence, Agenda
April 27, 2017 — Today, as the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) annual convention kicks off in Atlanta, Americans for Responsible Solutions released a new report, “Dangerous and Deceptive: The State of the Gun Lobby in 2017″. The report highlights the gun lobby’s dangerous agenda and influence over members of Congress as well as President Donald Trump, who is scheduled to speak at the convention on Friday and whose presidential campaign received $30 million from the NRA in 2016.
“The Washington gun lobby puts politics over safety and ideology over common sense,” said Peter Ambler, Executive Director for Americans for Responsible Solutions. “Their dangerous legislative agenda would dismantle commonsense, life-saving policies that an overwhelming majority of gun owners support. The gun lobby’s extreme agenda jeopardizes countless American lives and undermines law enforcement efforts to keep our communities safe. We need leaders who will stand up for the safety of America’s families, law enforcement, and veterans—not gun lobby profits.”
Spending more on campaigns in the past election cycle than ever before, the NRA is already at work pushing their dangerous agenda. This year, the Trump Administration has begun rolling back commonsense safeguards that have been proven to keep our communities safe from gun violence while gun lobby-backed bills are moving through Congress, threatening America’s public safety and law enforcement:
- Federally Mandated Concealed Carry: would mandate that each state recognize concealed carry permits from every other state, undermining law enforcement and forcing states with strong gun laws to comply with extremely lax state laws.
- Deregulating Silencers: would roll back a more than 80 year-old federal law that has prevented dangerous people from obtaining gun silencers, which mask muzzle flashes and the sound of gunfire, making it more difficult to locate an active shooter.
- Risking Veterans’ Safety: would prohibit the Veterans Administration from reporting veterans with severe mental illnesses to the federal background check system, putting our veterans who need our support the most at risk. An average of 20 veterans die by suicide per day; two-thirds use a firearm to take their lives.
- Guns in Schools: would repeal the Gun-Free School Zones Act, allowing firearms inside K–12 schools and permit college students and others to carry guns on campus. This ignores the truth about gun violence and pose a clear, demonstrable danger to our students, teachers, and communities.
At the convention, the gun lobby, their allies in Congress, and President Trump will back dangerous policies designed to boost the profits of gun manufacturers and corporate lobbyists at the expense of Americans’ safety.
Key Findings from the Report Include:
- The NRA spent over $54.2 million in the 2016 election cycle to support pro-gun candidates and defeat proponents of sensible gun reform. This total is the most the NRA has ever spent in an election, dwarfing the $20 million spent in the 2012 election and the less than $30 million spent in the 2014 election.
- The gun lobby’s agenda for 2017 is lethally dangerous for Americans. While the gun lobby aims to boost its profits, they would allow individuals who haven’t passed a background check —or even fired a gun before—to carry hidden, loaded firearms in crowded public spaces. They’re also trying to ease regulations on gun silencers, making them easily accessible to felons, domestic abusers, and people suffering a mental health crisis; as well as attempting to eliminate gun-free school zones.
- Just like Trump, the gun lobby is awfully cozy with Russia. The NRA opposes sanctions on Russia, is facing questions around the organization’s ties to Russia and Putin allies, and has dismissed President Trump’s obvious connections.
Read the full report here.