Donations to the National Rifle Association's PAC, the Political Victory Fund, more than tripled in February from the previous month, in response to widespread calls in the media for more stringent gun control measures following the Feb. 14 massacre at Florida's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, The Washington Free Beacon reported on Tuesday.
Many of the demonstrators pressing for gun control legislation, including at the "March For Our Lives" rallies over the weekend, have been singling out the NRA and Republican politicians who receive the backing of the group as the main obstacle to achieving their goals.
Supporters of the NRA have responded to these attacks on the group and what they see as an assault on their Second Amendment rights by infusing more money into the Political Victory Fund, according to figures provided by the Center for Responsive Politics.
In the two-week period before the shooting, from Jan. 31 until Feb. 13, the NRA's PAC raised $27,100 from 51 itemized contributions, or large contributions from individuals in the amount of $200 or more, while in the two-week period following the shooting these type of donations to the PAC jumped to $70,870 and came from 226 people.
Overall for February, the PAC raised $779,063, compared with $247,985 in January.
Almost 88 percent of the money donated to the PAC in February was from unitemized contributions, defined as individuals giving $200 or less.
The Political Victory Fund has now received more than $7 million in donations since the start of the 2018 election cycle, which started in January 2017, according to its filings with the Federal Election Commission.
Approximately 90 percent of that sum has come from small contributions.
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