After the tragic shooting and subsequent deaths of 27 people, 20 of whom were children, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., many are examining the debate between groups who are for stronger gun control and those that support the right to carry firearms.

Key players in the debate include several politically active groups that have spent years exerting influence in Washington.

The National Rifle Association accounts for about 60 percent of what gun rights interest groups spent on lobbying in 2011 and the first three quarters of 2012. The other gun rights advocates include the Gun Owners of America; the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms; The National Shooting Sports Foundation; Safari Club International; Boone & Crockett Club, a group that aims to preserve a “hunting heritage”; and The Ohio Gun Collectors Association.

The NRA alone has spent more than ten times as much as gun control interest groups on lobbying in 2011 and the first three quarters of 2012.

Since 2006, 15 different organizations have mentioned the words “gun control” in their lobbying reports. Smith and Wesson, one of the nation’s largest firearms manufacturers, has done so most frequently, mentioning the term 115 times. The National Rifle Association has the second-most mentions at 68.

For gun rights groups, 2012 was the most active election cycle since 2000. They contributed a total of $3 million to candidates, 96 percent of them Republicans, through mid-October. That also makes 2012 its most Republican election cycle, with 2000 and 2002 close behind with 93 percent of contributions going to Republicans.

By contrast, gun control groups contributed less in this election cycle than in any cycle as far back as OpenSecrets has data (1990) — again, through mid-October. After campaign spending peaked in 2000 with $581,000, politicians only saw $4,000 from gun control groups this year. All of those recipients were Democrats: Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), losing candidate Lori Saldana (D-Calif.), and Sen.-elect Tim Kaine (D-Va.) The interest group is made up of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, and the Violence Policy Center. None of those groups are active enough to warrant their own pages on OpenSecrets.org.

Top recipients of money from gun rights interest groups included presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio), Sen.-elect Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and Senate candidate Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.). Tea party Republicans like Michele Bachmann and Allen West were high on the list, as well.

The NRA by itself had made more than $1 million worth of campaign contributions in the 2012 election cycle as of mid-October, almost all of which came from the group’s political action committee. It gave about $720,000 to federal candidates and $342,000 to PACs, political parties and outside spending groups.

According to data from the Center for Responsive Politics, donors associated with the NRA have heavily favored Republicans in contributions since the 1990 election cycle with an average of 83 percent of their money leaning right in the last two decades. In the 2012 cycle, 89 percent of the NRA’s contributions went to Republicans.

Top recipients from 2012 are Reps. Steve Fincher (R-Tenn.) and Jim Renacci (R-Ohio) who received $9,900 each. Ohio Senate candidate Josh Mandel (R) got $9,450, and Reps. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.) and Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and North Dakota Senate candidate Rick Berg (R) also received $7,450 each. Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Id.) and Wisconsin Senate candidate Tommy Thompson (R) each took in about $7,000 from the NRA.

The NRA also gave GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney just shy of $6,000. The Center for Responsive Politics has no record of President Barack Obama receiving any NRA-associated donations greater than $200 this cycle.

Some of the Democrats who received contributions from the NRA include Utah Rep. Jim Matheson ($6,950), Michigan Rep. John Dingell ($5,000), Arkansas Rep. Mike Ross ($5,000) and Georgia Rep. John Barrow ($4,950).

Smith and Wesson gave about 96 percent of its $22,750 in contributions to federal candidates as opposed to PACs or other groups. Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) got $7,000, Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) received $2,000 and California Rep. Buck Mckeon got $1,000.

On top of the NRA’s contributions, the group also made about $17 million in independent expenditures in the 2012 election cycle. About $11.4 million was spent opposing Democrats and $5.9 million was spent favoring Republicans. The group spent most of its millions on two candidates: $8.9 million against Obama and $3 million supporting Romney.

In congressional races, the NRA dropped about $588,000 in favor of Indiana GOP Senate hopeful Richard Mourdock and $344,000 on Senator-elect Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) After Obama, the group spent the next most opposing Democratic Sen.-elect Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) with about $753,000. It spent $511,000 against Virginia Sen.-elect Tim Kaine, also a Democrat.

A Sig Sauer was one of the guns found near the body of the alleged Newtown shooter. Image via flickr user Burns!.



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