In the wake of the Parkland shooting, it has once again become clear that the NRA has an outsized impact on policy. Join us for a discussion with David Donnelly, Every Voice and Nadine Smith, Equality Florida to provide perspectives on how the NRA has leveraged the power of its campaign donations to stall progress for so long on gun control, and the creative ways that advocates are responding.
Co-sponsored by the Piper Fund and Philanthropy New York
Recording Here (FCCP Members Only)
Key Takeaways
- In February, the public debate seemed to shift in the wake of the Parkland shooting and young people have not minced words in calling out the NRA and calling out the failure of Congress to move common sense gun control reforms forward.
- NRA’s influence has been pervasive on the different branches of government including Congress, the Courts, and State Governments.
David Donnelly, EveryVoice
- Young advocates went to money in politics and NRA immediately as their target around the problem underlining why elected officials are not moving forward on reform.
- NRA’s mobilization of single-issue voters to pressure elected officials, storytelling and narrative development, and campaign expenditures in legislative and judicial elections have been effective tools to build their political power.
Nadine Smith, Equality Florida
- Students in Parkland were not fearful of NRA when they took them on and as a result, public messaging has shifted to squarely emphasize the NRA and money in politics as villains in the story of America’s gun problem.
- The #noNRAmoney hashtag and pledge is a new approach to addressing money in politics and is gaining traction in Florida and is spreading nationwide.
- 501c3s have a lot of opportunities in this fight – exposing the NRA’s money in politics influence and putting economic pressure on corporations financially benefiting from the sale of guns. There are a wide array of organizations representing different communities and issues, including Equality Florida, that have gun control as a plank in their overall work.
- Acting swiftly to support this work is imperative, including the leadership of students doing this work as volunteers. For example, travel funds for their speaking engagements and ways to amplifying their voices on this issue.