NRA Being Outspent 7-1 as Washington State Considers Law to Restrict the Second Amendment

We’ve all heard of the Koch Brothers- the supposedly nefarious puppetmasters of the right who control campaigns and elections and, if one believes the inane rambling of Harry Reid, serve as the greatest threat to the voice of the people in politics today.

However, currently, the law-abiding citizens of Washington State are engaged in a battle to retain their full Second Amendment rights and the forces opposing them are big donors with deep pockets.

 

And yet, we don’t hear a peep out of liberals about the danger of big liberal donor money…

 

Washington voters are considering Initiative 594, a controversial measure that, if enacted, would require background checks for all firearm transfers, including private sales. The measure allows for private transfers to immediate family members. The law also requires sheriffs to approve of handgun transfers in writing when a dealer or private seller is selling a handgun, approving that the buyer is allowed to own a handgun.

 

While some might look at this law find that it falls in line with President Obama’s continual pushing for “commonsense” gun control, the Second Amendment remains remarkably clear: (emphasis added)

 

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

 

Note: it does not say, “Ownership shall be subject to government approval,” or “someinfringement is allowable,” or “this amendment is subject to contemporary interpretations of what is ‘commonsense’ gun control.”

 

While the citizens of Washington State battle to retain their rights, the NRA fights alongside them.

 

The NRA, the boogeymen of the gun-hating left, are being outspent 7-1 by outside donors. According to a Fox News report: 

According to the Public Disclosure Commission, Seattle venture capitalist Nick Hanauer has given the most to Initiative 594 — $1.5 million, as of the last reporting period. According to records, Bloomberg, ex-New York mayor and co-founder of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, has donated $1 million; Bill and Melinda Gates have given $1 million; former Microsoft CEO and current owner of the Los Angeles Clippers Steve Ballmer has given $825,000; and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has donated $500,000. 

To clarify: billionaires, both in and out of the State of Washington, are pumping cash into this initiative and buying influence and the left is eerily silent. While the Koch Brothers and various other Republican benefactors are routinely vilified for their political expression, we have big donors trying to sway voters and since they’re pushing a liberal agenda, everything is A-okay.

 

This, ladies and gentlemen, is a shining illustration of the left’s glaring hypocrisy for which they are famous.

 

However, while the left blows their money on this initiative, analysts believe that the NRA may be looking at the bigger picture and waiting for the right time to spend their money. The NRA enjoys over 5 million members and brings in more than $200 million each year- it certainly has the bankroll to fight fire with fire in Washington.

 

However, thus far, the influential civil rights organization has spent a palfrey $3 million nationwide on ballot initiatives and only $191,000 on 594 in Washington State. In 2012, the NRA spent $16 million on the elections.

 

University of Washington political scientist Matt Barreto explained that the organization is likely to have a strategy up their sleeve since they have the bankroll to go toe-to-toe with Bloomberg and the rest of the gun-grabbers.

 

“The NRA never backs down from a money challenge, so I think that if they have money they’re going to put that money in. They don’t care if it’s Bloomberg and Gates on the other side. But they could be looking at the political calculations, the public opinion data, the public mood.”

 

Though President Obama and the left as a whole like to stir class divisions, Alan Gottlieb of the Second Amendment Foundation explains that this is a case where the right left is pitted against the rightwing middle class.

 

“The billionaires coming in with all this money, they’re making it a class battle. Most gun owners exist on a living wage, so to speak, and these billionaires are coming in and throwing all this money around.”

 http://www.tpnn.com/2014/09/26/nra-being-outspent-7-1-as-washington-state-considers-law-to-restrict-the-second-amendment/