$hot in the arm from 2016 elex
ALBANY — The 2016 presidential election made the National Rifle Association’s finances great again.
Contributions and grants to the powerful pro-gun group jumped by more than 25% in 2016 over the prior year, according to the organization’s latest financial disclosure form filed with the IRS.
The NRA in its filing reported having received $124.4 million in 2016, when Donald Trump was running for President against Democrat Hillary Clinton. That was up from just under $99 million in 2015.
And that doesn’t include the $12.39 million the NRA Political Victory Fund, the group’s political action committee, received in contributions in 2016, according to the filing.
An NRA spokesman did not return requests for comment.
But Tom King, an NRA board member and president of the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, said he believes the presidential election was behind the increase in donations to the gun group. “People wanted to elect Trump,” he said. “We should be thankful for Hillary Clinton being who she is because it got a lot of people to donate money to work against her.”
Clinton during the campaign vowed to expand background checks, make it easier to sue the gun industry, and keep firearms out of the hands of domestic abusers and those with severe mental illness.
Asked if gun owners were particularly afraid of Clinton being elected, King said, “Oh God, yes.”
It is too soon to say how the recent rash of mass shootings, including in Las Vegas in October and Florida this month, and the calls for more gun control have affected NRA fund-raising. The group’s financial filing for 2017 won’t be available until later this year, and the 2018 filing until next year.
Contributions and grants to the NRA in 2013 jumped by 11.5% over the previous year following the Newtown, Conn., school massacre that killed 20 kids and six adults. “You’re going to have to wait to see what happened with everything that’s going on right now,” King said. “I think you’ll probably see an increase in the amount of money being donated to the NRA.”
Rebecca Fischer, executive director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, said, “It is not surprising that gun manufacturers and others invested in the sale of guns have ratcheted up their donations to the NRA in the last few years.”
“As mass shootings dominate the newsreel, the gun industry recognizes that they stand to lose considerable profit,” Fischer said. “The NRA has run propaganda campaigns, contributed to elected officials — including the election of Donald Trump — and they continue to back legislation that will bring more guns into our communities. They will do what they need to do to make money. Period.”
The NRA's overall revenue — including fundraising and membership dues — hit $366.9 million in 2016, up about 9% from $336.7 million the prior year.
The filing shows the organization is not just seeking to block gun control legislation in Congress, but also in statehouses across the country by electing pro-gun Republicans.
The NRA in 2016 gave $176,350 to the Republican Governors Association, $135,000 to the Republican State Leadership Committee and $110,675 to the Republican Attorneys General Association.
NRA CEO and Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre received a $1.4 million compensation package in 2016, while Chris Cox, the executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action, made just under $1 million in salary and other compensation.
The organization in its filing says that “as the foremost protector and defender of the Second Amendment, the NRA promotes firearms safety, advocates against efforts to erode gun rights and freedoms, fights for initiatives aimed at reducing violent crime, and promotes hunters’ rights and conservation efforts.”