How does it feel to know that your tax dollars are being used by anti-gun organizations to restrict or eliminate your right to keep and bear arms? That’s exactly what’s happening since, as the Washington Free Beacon’s Stephen Gutowski is reporting, both the Brady Campaign and Giffords have taken Coronavirus Payroll Protection Program (PPP) cash.
The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence received between $350,000 and $1 million on April 10 to support 41 employees, according to the Small Business Administration. The center is the educational arm of the Brady organization, which also features a political advocacy arm, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, as well as the political action committee Brady PAC. In March, the Brady PAC endorsed presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and announced it would spend $4 million to help elect him and other gun-control candidates to office.
Liam Sullivan, a spokesman for the Brady Center, defended the loans, saying that the pandemic had affected the organization’s funding and caused it to cancel major fundraising events, including its annual gala.
Aww. That’s a darned shame. The NRA cancelled its giant annual meeting that was scheduled for April, but told Gutowski they haven’t taken any federal COVID cash. Neither has the Second Amendment Foundation.
The Brady Campaign’s Sullivan tried to claim that the Brady entities are separate and PPP money won’t go to support anti-gun candidates. But money is fungible and as Gutowski points out, Brady has shuffled cash and resources between their different entities before. So if they’re getting relief dollars, a portion ultimately goes to support their chosen candidates.
As for Giffords . . .
The Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, the educational arm of Giffords, accepted a loan worth between $150,000 and $350,000 on April 28 in order to meet payroll for 16 employees. Giffords, which did not respond to a request for comment, announced a nationwide tour supporting gun-control candidates that appears to be spearheaded by its advocacy arm. The group said it would spend a “six figure sum in online engagement” on the tour alone.
Your tax dollars at work.