Type to search

NATIONAL

Gun Lobby Loaded Up On Contributions To Block Background Check Loopholes

March For Our Lives student protest for gun control . St. Paul, Minnesota, March 7, 2018.
March For Our Lives student protest for gun control . St. Paul, Minnesota, March 7, 2018. (Photo: Fibonacci Blue)

House members who voted against a gun control measure received 16 times more gun lobby cash than supporters.

(By Abigail Luke, Maplight) Senators who haven’t agreed to back a measure to close loopholes in gun background checks have received 30 times more campaign cash from the industry and its supporters than the measure’s sponsors, according to a MapLight analysis.

The Bipartisan Background Checks Act, which passed the House by a 240-190 margin in February, would require private sellers to make sales through licensed gun dealers. The proposal, introduced in January by Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Conn., is fiercely opposed by gun manufacturers and advocacy organizations, who have given more than $274,00 to senators since 2017. The National Rifle Association ($95,150), Safari Club International ($85,500), and the National Shooting Sports Foundation ($64,710) have been the largest contributors.

Despite the gun lobby’s opposition, surveys show most Americans support expanded background checks. A recent Quinnipiac University poll found 93 percent of voters support requiring background checks for all gun buyers, including 89 percent of Republicans and 87 percent of gun owners. A study published earlier this month in Pediatrics found fewer children are killed with guns in states with background checks that exceed the federal standard.

House members who voted against the measure received 16 times more gun lobby cash than supporters. The gun lobby has given more than $1.1 million to 184 opponents of the bill since 2017. The National Rifle Association accounted for more than one-third of the total, giving almost $458,450 to opponents. Other top contributors include the National Shooting Sports Foundation ($309,485); Safari Club International ($279,500); Vista Outdoor ($47,650), Gun Owners of America ($24,450); the National Association for Gun Rights ($11,500); Olin Corp. ($10,000); Smith & Wesson ($5,700); Barrett Firearms Manufacturing ($3,700); and Sig Sauer ($1,750).

Although the House bill won eight GOP votes, it’s stalled in the Republican-controlled Senate. No hearings have been scheduled on the Murphy bill, which is co-sponsored by 40 Democrats and one independent.

The lack of federal action has spurred several states to enact their own universal background check laws, with New Mexico becoming the twelfth state to pass a law in March. California extended background checks to the purchase of ammunition in July.

Tags:
Guest Post

Citizen Truth republishes articles with permission from a variety of news sites, advocacy organizations and watchdog groups. We choose articles we think will be informative and of interest to our readers. Chosen articles sometimes contain a mixture of opinion and news, any such opinions are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of Citizen Truth.

You Might also Like

2 Comments

  1. Larry Stout August 1, 2019

    “A chicken in every pot”?

    Nope. An AK-47 in the hands of every idiot.

    It’s called “the American way”!

    Reply

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *