Donations to NRA tripled after Florida shooting

Contributions to the National Rifle Association’s political action committee tripled in February amid public attacks against the organization following the Feb. 14 high school shooting in Parkland, Fla.

Supporters of the Second Amendment donated about $779,000 in February to the NRA’s political arm, the Political Victory Fund, according to recent Federal Election Commission (FEC) data^[1].

The figure marked a more than threefold increase compared to January, when the PAC received nearly $250,000 in donations^[2], and was the fund’s second-best month over the last year.

The NRA has come under fire from gun control activists, who have criticized the group in the wake of the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that left 17 dead.

Last weekend, thousands of people rallied in support of gun control during the “March for Our Lives” protest, with many placards openly attacking the NRA. The increasing onslaught against the organization, however, correlated with more donations going to the group’s PAC.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics^[3], two weeks before the fatal school shooting, the NRA’s PAC received $27,100 from itemized contributions — donations that exceed $200 — from 51 donors. Over the next two weeks after the shooting, the itemized contributions skyrocketed to nearly $71,000 from 226 donors.

Most donations to the group — totaling $685,099 — came in small donations that did not exceed $200.

Multiple politicians are facing the fury of anti-gun activists who criticize them for accepting the NRA’s support and donations.

US Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) is among the primary targets due to the NRA’s support of him, which totals more than $3 million, although actual donations to his campaigns since 2010 totaled only nearly $15,000.

The Political Victory Fund’s donations to individual lawmakers are limited due to election laws that limit contributions to $10,000 per election cycle.