Surge in Political Donations for Newtown Gun Lobby
A groundswell of financial support for the firearms industry and its political agenda is manifesting itself in an unusual setting — Newtown.
Since the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, contributions to the political arm of the National Shooting Sports Foundation have quadrupled, a recent filing with the Federal Election Commission shows.
Located three miles from where 20 children and six educators were ambushed on Dec. 14, the trade association raised $181,000 during the first six months of the year for its federal political action committee.
A Las Vegas casino conglomerate and the son of the late Unification Church founder Rev. Sun Myung Moon helped bankroll the group, which received a surge of donations from out-of-state gun shops and Connecticut-based firearms manufacturing executives.
The surge coincided with a crackdown on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines by the state, which also passed universal background checks on the sale of firearms and ammunition.
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