By Daniel Nass. The Trace Stay informed. Never miss a big story. Subscribe now. Email Address Weekly Daily. Daniel Nass twitter email. The NRA greatly boosted its independent spending after the Supreme Court decided Citizens United in ; that ruling declared that corporations — including some nonprofits like the NRA — have a constitutional right to spend unlimited amounts to influence elections.
The Supreme Court has affirmed that Americans have a right to know who is spending money to influence their votes and their views. Eight justices endorsed the importance of disclosure in Citizens United , even as the rest of the opinion which only had the support of five justices demonstrated how out of touch the Court is with how campaigns are run by incorrectly assuming that adequate disclosure already exists.
Second, some campaign spending often goes unreported because our laws have not kept pace with how groups use changing technology to influence elections. The reporting gap could be explained by the fact that independent groups are not required to reveal how much they spend on [certain] Internet or field operations, including get-out-the-vote efforts. There is also the matter of foreign interference in our elections.
Common Cause analysis of data from the Center for Responsive Politics; includes direct contributions to candidates from NRA employees and its PAC as well as indirect support via independent expenditures. Only includes spending from to the present.
Lobbying is another strategy that the NRA uses to accomplish its political goals. It is a prolific spender on Capitol Hill.
Its federal lobbying has secured votes on some of its priorities — and blocked bills that it opposes. Since Congress passed an assault weapons ban in , which it allowed to expire in , not much substantive gun legislation has been signed into law. Bush signed it in The law shields corporations which manufacture and sell weapons from liability when their products harm people. Other gun measures have all failed. Other NRA priorities have gained momentum. It awaits action in the Senate.
The NRA has pushed this proposal as one of its priority bills. It has also been a stalwart opponent of the DISCLOSE Act , legislation that would shine a light on secret money in politics, including the money that is flowing through its Institute for Legislative Action, as discussed above. ALEC staff offers state legislators talking points, boilerplate press releases, and other support to help push the bills over the finish line. Americans continue to organize to advance policies that will safeguard our communities from the crisis of gun violence.
With every surge in the shocking violence affecting our towns, neighborhoods, and schools, people renew their pushes for changes to the laws that regulate how guns are bought, sold, and handled. Despite the public support they enjoy, most of these proposals stall. Too many politicians are beholden to the NRA and fear its influence in their election. Our democracy should be of, by, and for the people. The National Rifle Association is America's longest-standing civil rights organization.
Together with our more than five million members, we're proud defenders of history's patriots and diligent protectors of the Second Amendment. Detroit Free Press. John Kasich primary Hillary Clinton general. The Economist. Hillary Clinton. Financial Times. The State. The New Yorker. Las Vegas Review-Journal. Donald Trump. Wisconsin State Journal. The Des Moines Register. The Washington Post. The Salt Lake Tribune.
The Columbus Dispatch. The Charlotte Observer. San Antonio Express-News. Marco Rubio primary Hillary Clinton general. South Florida Sun Sentinel. Sun Sentinel. Chicago Sun-Times. The San Diego Union-Tribune. The Baltimore Sun. Hillary Clinton primary Hillary Clinton general. Chicago Tribune. Marco Rubio primary Gary Johnson general. The Detroit News. Gary Johnson. The Arizona Republic. With the NRA pouring money into political races at record levels it is an easy argument to make that the gun lobby has bought Washington — but that fails to paint a full picture.
And the cash seemed to have been well spent. Its only big loss was in Nevada, for the seat vacated by the Democratic minority leader, Harry Reid.
Guns are big ish business. But there are far bigger industries. If the gun lobby is to be successful, it needs to spend money in Washington, and it does. To be sure, it is hard to be a force in American politics without money. The NRA has money that it uses to help its favored candidates get elected.
0コメント