As we revealed last night, Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG) and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America (MDA) are now Mayors Demand Moms for Illegal Action. Or something like that. You can read the official press release after the jump, which claims that MDA has 130k members (which would mean she hasn’t added any since the May 2013 video above). Ah but are they paying members? The National Rifle Association has over 5 million dues-paying members (not to mention the cash they blow on NRA tchotckes). But who foots the bill for Shannon Watts’ anti-gun agitprop? Mayor Bloomberg! And we would have known precisely how much money made MDA Mayor Mike’s bitch if the two organizations hadn’t merged. As TTAG’s own Dirk Diggler (yes Dirk) wonders . . .
“Is this merger because MDA didn’t want to file their 990 form for the year showing how much cash they got from Bloomy so they wouldn’t be discredited as a shill for him? They were formed in late 2012 so they had no ‘money’ to cause them to file (non-profits with under $50k in revenue for a 501(c) org and under $25k for a 527 org are exempt from the publicly available paperwork).
“However, in 2013, Shannon Watts went “big time” thanks to Bloomy. Come April 2014, MDA was gonna have to file their 990 with the IRS and the world would get to see how much cash he was using to stroke her. Now that MAIG subsumed MDA, I believe that moots how much they received for disclosure purposes since MAIG would make the disclosures now for an affiliated entity.”
In short, pay no attention to that billionaire behind the curtain. You know we will . . .
MAYORS AGAINST ILLEGAL GUNS AND MOMS DEMAND ACTION TO JOIN FORCES, UNITE A NATIONAL MOVEMENT TO PROTECT COMMUNITIES AND SAVE LIVES
Merger Brings Together Americans From Every Background to Fight For Common-Sense Reforms to Keep Guns Out of Dangerous Hands
Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America today announced their merger into a nationwide movement of Americans working together to end gun violence. The organizations will unite their grassroots, policy and field forces to enact common-sense policies that respect the rights of gun owners while keeping firearms out of dangerous hands. Moms Demand Action will continue its work as a moms-focused organization in partnership with the mayors’ coalition.
“We started this movement as just 15 mayors committed to protecting our cities – and we’ve since been joined by more than 1,000 mayors and more than 1.5 million Americans from big cities, small towns, and all different walks of life,” said New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. “Gun violence is, unfortunately, an issue that affects every community, and coming together with Moms Demand Action today will strengthen our efforts to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals and save lives.”
“Gun violence used to be something that happened only in other cities, other communities, but now every mother and every American knows the fear of ‘what if?’ – what if it were my community or my child’s school?” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action. “That’s why we’ve come together to fight this tragedy – to save our children’s lives, save American lives and protect the places where we all live, work and go to school. This partnership ensures mothers will continue to play an important role in gun violence prevention for decades to come.”
Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a bipartisan coalition of more than 1,000 mayors and 1.5 million grassroots supporters, was co-founded in 2006 by New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino. Moms Demand Action, a movement of more than 130,000 U.S. moms with chapters in all 50 states, was launched a year ago this week to demand tougher gun laws in the wake of the Newtown mass shooting. The organizations worked together this year to pass comprehensive background check laws and other reform initiatives in Colorado, Maryland, Connecticut, Delaware and New York.