The Sandy Hook school shooting may have added new fuel to the gun control debate, but advocacy groups have given hundreds of thousands of dollars to federal legislators since 2009, according to a report released Friday.
Nonpartisan research organization MapLight, in coordination with Tableau Software, compiled contribution totals for the leading advocacy groups in the gun control debate—the National Rifle Association and the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
The NRA’s Political Action Committee dwarfs the Brady Campaign’s in terms of contributions to legislators. It gave about $1.5 million to legislators compared to the Brady Campaign’s $5,900.
In Minnesota, the NRA gave nearly $30,000 to legislators—ranking the state 20th in NRA contributions.
The Brady Campaign didn’t make any contributions to Minnesota legislators during that time period.
The NRA gave $2,500 to Second District Rep. John Kline during the 2012 election cycle and an additional $1,000 during his 2010 campaign. Kline, a Republican, won the NRA's endorsement in October, in part for co-sponsoring the “The National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act,” which would have allowed citizens with concealed handgun permits to take their firearms into other states.
Minnesota Republicans don’t have a lock on NRA contributions. DFL candidates Colin Peterson and Tim Walz together received nearly $14,000.
Minnesota also ranks 20th in the number of contributions to the NRA’s PAC, giving the organization about $22,000. The Brady Campaign did not receive any contributions from Minnesotans.
Use the search box above to see which which legislators received NRA money and how much they received.
