NRA raises $1.1 million in January
As the fight over gun policy hits Capitol Hill, the powerful National Rifle Association is stockpiling a big war chest, reporting $1.1 million in donations during January 2013 alone, according to a report filed with the Federal Election Commission.
In all of 2011 and 2012, the NRA Political Victory Fund, the group's a political action committee, raised $14.4 million. Fundraising during that period averaged just over $600,000 per month. Their strongest fundraising occurred during August 2012, as the general election was gearing up, when the organization raised $1.18 million.
The NRA has vehemently opposed calls from President Obama and congressional Democrats for stronger gun control laws in the wake of a December massacre at an elementary school in Connecticut. The organization's considerable financial muscle could help ensure that legislators hold the line against any new restrictions on firearms.