Who Funds NRA? Florida School Shooting Being Blamed On Gun Lobby

At least 17 high school students were killed and even more injured after a mass shooting Wednesday at a school in Parkland, Florida.

The attack on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is said to be the first school shooting this year in Florida and the 17th within 45 days of 2018 in the United States, according to data from Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun control advocacy organization.

The suspect, a 19-year-old former student of the school, was taken into custody. He had reportedly threatened his peers before, and collected guns at home, students told the Miami Herald.

The country’s political response to these tragic incidents has become repetitive — Republicans offer "thoughts and prayers," while Democrats demand new legislation that apparently stands no chance of being passed in the near future.

Moments after the shooting Wednesday, President Donald Trump said, "Just spoke to Gov. Rick Scott. We are working closely with law enforcement on the terrible Florida school shooting."

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Gov. Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi also offered their "thoughts and prayers" to the victims.

After the shooting Wednesday, some left-wing ideology supporters started blaming the National Rifle Association (NRA), while many social media users have always blamed the organization.

One political activist even tied the shooting to a tweet from the NRA on Wednesday that encouraged people to gift their significant others with guns for Valentine’s Day.

"This morning, NRA tweeted about getting your loved one a gun this Valentine’s Day," Igor Volsky, the deputy director of Center for American Progress Action, tweeted. "Three hours later, we’re in the middle of another school shooting."

"Once again, our children are held hostage and murdered by the GOP and NRA’s intransigence," Mike Bates, a columnist for MLB Daily Dish said on Twitter.

The NRA and its affiliates spent more than $50 million in political advertisements in the U.S. general elections last year, boosting the Republicans, who in turn promised to support them and target Democrats, who have been proposing stricter gun laws.

The pro-gun lobby reportedly spent over double to fight the Democrats ($34.5 million), as it did to support the Republicans ($14.5 million), and the biggest beneficiary was the president himself, according to Quartz.

NRA spent $14.5 million only in campaign ads for the Republicans, with $11.4 million for Trump, $1 million for Rubio and so on.

They spent even more for the ads against the Democrats with $19.8 million for Hillary Clinton, $5.6 million for Deborah Ross, member of the North Carolina General Assembly, and so on.

The organization’s overall revenue has seen an increase in the recent years, rising to almost $350 million in 2013. Majority of the money is used for funding NRA initiatives such as member newsletters, gun safety education and more. However, they have a separate pool of funds to influence laws and keep its chosen leaders in power to spread its pro-gun message.

A CNNMoney analysis of federal campaign finance records of the organization showed that while most of the money comes from everyday Americans, some also come from big corporations, many within the gun industry.

However, individual donations play a greater role as the political action committee within the NRA is barred from getting aid from big companies. The call for stricter gun control legislations from leaders like former President Barack Obama, in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012, led to an increase in these donations and forced the NRA to call for its members to stand against new regulations.

"Americans look to the NRA to defend their constitutional right to self protection," NRA spokesperson Jennifer Baker told CNNMoney. "When gun control advocates ramp up their efforts to pass gun control people voice their opposition by donating to the NRA."

The state of Florida does not require you to have a permit to purchase rifles, shotguns or handguns. It also doesn’t require the registration of firearms, and the state doesn’t necessitate gun owners to be licensed in any way.

Florida also does not allow counties and municipalities much say in gun restrictions, thus requiring most laws to be made at the state level.

The Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence gave Florida the grade ‘F’ for its laws on guns.

Correction: The Florida school shooting was the 17th incident of its kind in 2018, according to revised data from Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun control advocacy organization which had earlier reported it as the 18th.