An estimated 500,000 people have taken to the streets today in Washington, D.C. to call for gun law reform, but the National Rifle Association (NRA) hopes to prevent these efforts from gaining legislative traction. A major part of the NRA’s most recent anti-gun reform approach has included launching a greatly increased online advertising campaign in the wake of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida.
NRA Ad Spending More Than Quadrupled; Grade Schoolers Targeted
The Chicago Tribune reported that the National Rifle Association did pull the plug on all digital advertising from February 14 to February 18. As soon as this brief window passed, though, the association’s ads returned in much greater numbers than usual. The NRA was already spending an average of $11,300 per day for online ads alone before the school shooting on February 14. Since February 18, online ad spending has more than quadrupled with a daily average of $47,300.
The majority of this increase was spent on Facebook in advertisements that were targeted to Florida residents. The National Rifle Association also jumped into the top 100 advertisers on YouTube and has maintained this new status since February 21.
In some cases, the gun association’s ads are being displayed in highly controversial ways. For example, a popular YouTube channel named Kids’ Toys has recently displayed several NRA membership drive ads, despite the fact that the channel’s programming is targeted toward children in grade school.
Donor Funded NRA Advertising
This massive boost in spending may be partially linked to a large influx of donations. According to Open Secrets , the NRA Political Action Fund typically receives approximately $27,000 in donations every two weeks. This jumped to almost $71,000 during the two-week period that followed the nation’s deadliest high school shooting.
NRA Funds School Shooting Sports
ABC News 11 recently revealed data tying the National Rifle Association to the creation and further development of school shooting sports nationwide. In a six-year period, the gun association provided grants worth $7.3 million to approximately 500 schools and school districts. These grants were utilized for shooting equipment and youth clubs. With this in mind, the NRA’s advertisements on the Kids’ Toys channel may not be accidental.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas is one of the many schools that has taken advantage of the NRA’s grant program. In fact, the school’s competitive marksmanship team received a big portion of its funding via the NRA. Suspect Nikolas Cruz had been a member of the marksmanship team during his time at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
The National Rifle Association provided an additional grant earlier this year to the Boward County Public Schools. As a result of the Parkland tragedy, the school district has returned this $5,066 grant. The district has also opted to decline any future NRA grants. It remains to be seen whether or not the school district will continue to participate in any shooting sports.
Is NRA Support Still Strong?
Donors have clearly increased funding for the NRA during the past month, but this might not tell the entire story. Per Newsweek, Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate Adam Putnam’s poll ratings dropped after he made public comments supporting the NRA. The overall impact of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting on candidates who support the National Rifle Association won’t be known until the November election.