The National Rifle Association is guilty of abusing donations for political purposes, asserts Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA), chair of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. He, along with the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, is calling for an investigation into the NRA after a Yahoo News report suggested the gun rights organization had violated several provisions of the Federal Election Campaign Act by using funds to support political candidates instead of promoting gun safety.
The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV) has launched a nationwide petition campaign asking the Federal Election Commission and the Internal Revenue Service to investigate “violations of federal law” by the National Rifle Association.
The petition drive cites the Yahoo News report which disclosed that the NRA had violated multiple provisions of the Federal Election Campaign Act, failed to report its political expenditures to the IRS for six consecutive years, and appears to have avoided paying federal taxes.
Thompson said people deserve to know if the NRA is guilty of hypocrisy:
“Many Second Amendment supporters and responsible gun owners contribute to the NRA because of the work it does to promote gun safety and support the hunting community. They have a right to know whether their money is going to these causes or to Beltway-NRA political efforts that undermine common-sense laws designed to keep criminals, domestic abusers and the dangerously mentally ill from getting guns.”
Yahoo did admit that since state election and campaign finance laws vary from state to state, it’s unlikely any repercussions would be administered.
The NRA is well aware of Thompson and his gun control agenda. This time last year, the organization reported on the representative's "Promoting Healthy Minds for Safer Communities Act." Here was an excerpt of their expose, which detailed the bad news Thompson's bill would mean for gun owners.
Title IV of the bill would expand existing prohibited person categories under the federal Gun Control Act. Outpatient mental health treatment would become prohibiting in some circumstances. Misdemeanor prohibitions would also be expanded, including an entirely new prohibition related to "stalking convictions." As defined in the bill, such convictions would not require any finding of violence or even violent intent, nor would they be limited to offenses occurring between persons with preexisting relationships. An existing misdemeanor prohibition would also be expanded to capture a much larger class of people. These prohibitions, moreover, would apply not just to future outpatient "commitments" or convictions but to those that had occurred in the past. Thus, persons who have long been in lawful possession of firearms without problem or incident could suddenly find themselves subject to federal felony penalties for continued possession.
Considering Thompson has a history of trying to sweep Second Amendment rights under the rug, the question arises: Is the new fund abuse accusation leveled against the NRA an actual scandal – or just another attempt by liberal Democrats to scale back gun rights?