The National Rifle Association and the firearms industry are locked and loaded in a mutually beneficial financial relationship that funnels millions into the NRA's coffers, yielding legislative triumphs on Capitol Hill that boost gun sales.This information should be of interest to one of my Facebook antagonists who challenged me to provide a link to a remark I made about the gun manufacturers' support of the NRA. I ignored his comment because it's what the pro-gun guys often do, demand proof for things that are either obvious or for which there is no proof. In this case it was something obvious.
The NRA's "Ring of Freedom" corporate donors list on its contributions website (www.nragive.com) reads like a Who's Who of gun, ammunition and ammunition magazine manufacturers, shooting-accessory providers and retailers.
Among them: Sturm, Ruger & Co., of the Southport section of Fairfield; Smith & Wesson, of Springfield, Mass.; and Beretta USA, a subsidiary of the Italian arms manufacturer.
The website shows that since 2005, corporations have given between $19.8 million and $52.6 million -- the vast majority of that from the firearms industry. Ruger said in a news release in April that it had donated $1.2 million to the NRA in the past 12 months.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
Tell me again why the NRA is considered a 501(C)(3) nonprofit? Someone please name for me ANY other C3 nonprofit organization (which pays no taxes, by the way) which has more than 50% of its "donations" made by industries that it lobbies for.
ReplyDeleteThe NRA should have its nonprofit status removed immediately.
Again I have shown more guns less crime why can't you show more gun laws reduce crime. You can't show a crime that did not happen but you can show a drop in crime percent last I checked.
DeleteDo it using the FBI Burrow of Justice or even CDC just so long as it's UNbiased.
DeleteAnonymous, this thread is about the NRA funding. If you continue to spam my blog with your repetitions nonsense that I've already answered I'll begin deleting your comments.
DeleteParticipate in the discussion by all means, but stop the spamming.
Oregonian, feeling jealous that your pathetic little groups don't get the same level of funding? Switch to advocating something that Americans want, and you'll do better.
DeleteIf the NRA has 4 million members, and each pays the least amount of yearly dues ($25), then $100 million comes from yearly dues. Since 2005, companies gave up to $50 million, and members gave $700 million.
DeleteSounds to me like the majority of their funding comes from the people.
Yearly membership in the NRA costs $25/year at the cheapest (I pay $35 a year). If there are 4 million members, then the members have contributed $700 million in the same period where companies have given $50 million.
DeleteLooks like most funding comes from the people. Please don't blindly believe everything you read, folks.
I always figured ,most of the corporate funding is passed around in attache cases with no paper trail. I could be wrong.
DeleteThe NRA gets it's money from the gun manufacturers, gun makers get their money from the American people, the American people get their money from their jobs, Barack said we didn't build that without the government, so our employers get their money from the government... Mystery solved, the government finances the NRA.
ReplyDeleteI asked for no proof, nor am I surprised. This is much ado about nothing. Find an issue related to gun control that means something for this is not it.
ReplyDeleteHe who pays the piper calls the tune. That's what it has to do with the gun control debate. The NRA is a shill for the gun industry.
DeleteBut the Brady Bunch is a disinterested and noble organization? The difference is that the Brady Bunch is pathetic and ineffective.
DeleteHow about the NAACP? How about the ACLU? The Ketchup Advisory Board? (O.K., that one's a joke.) Groups advocate a variety of causes. That's freedom.
So?
ReplyDeleteIt's about time that Ruger stepped up.
ReplyDeleteNo need to read the rest of the article ... just pay attention to portions important to Mikeb:
ReplyDelete"Dues still represent the lion's share of the NRA's income. In its 2010 tax return, available online, the NRA reported total revenue of $227.8 million, with $100.5 million coming from membership dues and $71.1 million from a catchall category, "Contributions, Gifts, Grants and Other Similar Amounts."
The NRA is hardly alone among membership organizations that seek out alliances with corporations whose interests parallel their own.
Read more: http://www.greenwichtime.com/local/article/NRA-gun-industry-aim-at-same-target-4154421.php#ixzz2GpOLAcCt"
Sturm, Ruger & Company tied its donations directly to gun sales in a program called the “Million Gun Challenge.” Ruger promised to donate $1 to the NRA-ILA for each gun it sold over the course of a year, from May 2011 to May 2012. The “Million Gun Challenge” exceeded its goal and raised $1.25 million. This was common knowledg among gun owners who often chose Ruger products over other since they new a portion of their purchase would go to support an organization that they themselves support. DO corporations help the NRA? You bet. Would the NRA exist without the support of common citizens? Absolutely not!
ReplyDelete