Gun Rights vs. Gun Control - Who Controls Washington?

I haven't published on this subject for quite some time but with the recent events in the United States and the nation's ongoing issues with gun-related violence, I wanted to take another look at the connection between gun rights and politics.  Thanks to Open Secrets, we have a clear picture of the contrast between the political power of the gun rights and the gun control sides of the equation.  

Let's start by looking at the gun rights side of the debate.   Here is a bar graph showing the political contribution trends of the gun rights lobby for each election cycle since 1990:

In total, since 1990, the gun rights side has contributed $41.934 million to candidates running for federal office.

Here is a bar graph showing how political contributions from the gun rights side of the debate have benefitted the Republican side of the political spectrum:

Of the total of $41.934 million since 1990, 89 percent has gone to Republican candidates and 11 percent has gone to Democratic candidates.

Here is a breakdown of which gun rights associations donated to candidates in the 2016 election cycle:

Here are the top 20 recipients of gun rights donations during the 2016 cycle, noting that Donald Trump heads the list by a wide margin:

Now, let's switch to the gun control side of the debate.  Here is a bar graph showing the political contribution trends of the gun control lobby for each election cycle since 1990:

In total, since 1990, the gun control side has contributed $4.186 million to candidates running for federal office, roughly one-tenth of the donations that were made by the gun rights lobby over the same timeframe.

Here is a bar graph showing how political contributions by the gun control side have benefitted the Democratic side of the political spectrum:

Of the total of $4.186 million donated since 1990, 96 percent has gone to Democratic candidates and 4 percent has gone to Republican candidates.

Here is a breakdown of which gun control associations donated to candidates in the 2016 election cycle:

Here are the top 20 recipients of gun control donations during the 2016 cycle noting that Hillary Clinton heads the list by a very wide margin, even when compared to her competitor, Bernie Sanders: 

As we all know, lobbying is a Washington pastime.  It is through this mechanism that various interest groups get Congress and the President to see things "their way".  Let's now take a look at  a comparison of how much was spent by the gun rights and gun control sides of the debate on lobbying in Washington.

Here is a bar graph showing how much the gun rights lobby spent on lobbying annually in Washington going back to 1998:

In the peak year (2013), the gun rights lobby spent $15.292 million on lobbying. 

Here is a list of the major gun rights groups lobbying in Washington and how much they have spent so far in 2017:

Let's look at the spending on lobbying by the gun control side of the debate.  Here is a bar graph showing how much the gun control lobby spent on lobbying annually in Washington going back to 1998:

In the peak year (2013), the gun control lobby spent $2.217 million on lobbying, roughly one-seventh of that spent in the same year by the gun rights lobby. 

Here is a list of the major gun control groups lobbying in Washington and how much they have spent so far in 2017:

Let's summarize.  We all know that money talks in Washington, D.C. and big money talks louder than small money.  It's pretty clear from looking at both the campaign contributions and the amount spent by lobbyists which side of the gun debate has the most sway in Washington.  If we expect that any changes in America's gun laws will be forthcoming in light of yet another mass shooting, I suspect that we'll be waiting a long, long time.

Gun Rights vs. Gun Control - Where's the Money?

I haven't posted on this subject for a year so I thought that it was time to update my posting on how both gun rights and gun control interests fund America's political theatre.  Fortunately, Open Secrets has done a great deal of the work for me.  In this posting, we will see which presidential candidates in the 2016 cycle have received support from either the pro- or anti-gun interests and which Members of Congress have been the biggest beneficiaries of both pro- and anti-gun interests over the past quarter century.

Let's start by looking at the totals spent by gun rights groups during the current cycle:

Republicans have received the lion's share of gun rights contributions with the National Rifle Association, the largest single contributor, contributing $599,500 to the Republicans and a lousy $500 to the Democrats.

Here is a graphic showing gun rights groups contributions since 1990:

Gun rights groups have spent a total of $37,358,535 since 1990 with $32,276,136 or 88 percent of the total going to Republicans and $4,422,869 or 12 percent of the total going to Democrats as you can see on this graphic:

Of the total, the National Rifle Association has contributed $22.272 million since 1989, the vast majority of the funds spent by gun rights groups as you can see on this table and graphs:

Now, let's look at the political contribution data for the gun control groups.  Here is a graphic showing the total spent during the current cycle:

Not surprisingly, liberal groups have been the biggest beneficiaries of gun control contributions, however, it is a far cry from what has been spent by the gun rights side of the firearm equation.

Here is a graphic showing gun control groups contributions since 1990:

Gun rights groups have spent a total of $2,453,844 since 1990, just over 7 percent of what gun rights groups have contributed to their choice of candidates/political party over the same timeframe.  Of the $2.45 million, $1,874,943 or 94 percent of the total has been donated to the Democrats and only $116,401 or 6 percent of the total has been donated to the Republicans.

Now, let's look at how the presidential candidates have benefitted from their pro- and anti-gun backers during the current election cycle:

The biggest Republican beneficiary has been Ted Cruz who gleaned $272,707 from the gun rights side of the debate followed by Rand Paul at $156,202 and Marco Rubio at $126,964.  The last Republican candidate standing, Donald Trump, has only received $10,036 from gun rights groups, among the smallest in the entire group of presidential candidates.  The biggest Democratic beneficiary has been Hillary Clinton who has received $34,913 from the gun control side of the debate; interestingly, her competitor, Bernie Sanders, has actually received $1,600 from the pro-gun side and not a penny from the anti-gun side.

Here is a table showing the top Congressional recipients of funds from gun rights groups between 1989 and 2016:

Here is a table showing the top Congressional recipients of funs from gun control groups between 1989 and 2016:

In all cases, the donations made by the gun control interests are a small fraction of what is and has been spent by the gun rights interests.  

This data goes a long, long way to explaining why, despite the emotional response that occurs after a mass shooting, there is little motivation in Washington to change anything when it comes to gun ownership in the United States.