March 28 (UPI) — The National Rifle Association received an increase in donations in the days after 17 people were killed in the mass shooting at a Florida high school last month, according to Federal Election Commission data.
In January, the month before the shooting, the NRA received $248,000 in individual contributions, CNN first reported. In February, the month of the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Fla., the NRA’s donations more than tripled to $779,000.
The NRA’s political action committee — the NRA Political Victory Fund — also saw a spike in donations and donors immediately after the Feb. 14 shooting.
The Center for Responsive Politics found that during the two weeks before the shooting, the NRA’s PAC In the two weeks before the shooting – from Jan. 31 to Feb. 13 – NRA’s PAC received $27,100 through 51 donations.
During the two weeks after — Feb. 15 to Feb. 28 — the PAC had received $70,870 through 226 donations.
An increased interest in stronger gun control measures may have spurred donors to open their wallets, but that might not be the only reason for the increased donations in February.
In February 2017, the NRA received $616,000 — a hefty increase from the $382,000 it received the previous month. And in March 2017, the NRA had an even better month, taking in $884,000.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.