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For my friends who keep parroting talking points about how politicians are being 'controlled by the NRA,' allow me to disabuse you of this uninformed, idiotic viewpoint.

First, it's important to point out that the NRA does NOT represent the gun industry; it represents gun *owners.* It does not lobby on behalf of the gun industry. It, in fact, frequently acts to the the *detriment* of the gun industry.

The organization that lobbies on behalf of the gun INDUSTRY (i.e. gun manufacturers, accessories, trainers, etc) is the NSSF -- *not* the NRA.

Total lobbying expenditures in 2018 by the NRA were just over 5 million dollars.

Total lobbying expenditures in 2018 by the NSSF were just under 4 million dollars.

Neither of these figures even breaks the top FIFTY in a list of biggest lobbying spenders in Congress. As a matter of fact, the NRA would have increase their lobbying budget by nearly 50% just to have a shot at 50th place.

Meanwhile, nobody accuses the president of being "controlled by" Verizon, a company that spends double what the NRA does. Nobody accuses the president of "selling out" to FedEx, who spends THREE TIMES what the NSSF does on lobbying. And, not surprisingly, the lobbying group that represents the media outlets feeding you gullible people this narrative about the big, bad, gun lobby that holds Congress hostage -- it spends FOUR TIMES what the gun industry spends.

To really drive my point home, the National Association of Realtors spent nearly SIXTY FIVE MILLION DOLLARS on lobbying (13 TIMES what the NRA spends) and nobody has even the slightest issue with that -- but then they turn around and regurgitate a narrative about how the NRA has 'bought and paid for' it's political influence.

The gun industry's lobbying budget doesn't even count as lunch money in DC. If your favorite gun control bill isn't being passed, it's certainly not because the gun lobby has 'bought' any meaningful influence.

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DEVELOPING STORY: MAN ENTERING MISSOURI WALMART WEARING BODY ARMOR AND CARRYING RIFLE WITH 100 ROUNDS OF AMMO STOPPED BY SHOPPER WITH CONCEALED CARRY PERMIT
by Kevin Ryan

Police in Springfield, Missouri responded to a call of an active shooter at a Walmart, Thursday evening. They say a man in his 20s pulled up to the Walmart, donned body armor and military fatigues, and entered the store carrying a rifle. He was recording himself, possibly on Facebook live.

The store manager pulled a fire alarm, urging people to escape the store. An off duty firefighter with a concealed carry permit stopped the man and held him at gunpoint. The Springfield Police arrived three minutes later and detained the man.

Police confirm that the man had loaded weapons, and over one hundred rounds of ammunition. Lt. Mike Lucas said it was clear the man's intent was to cause chaos, saying in part, “His intent was not to cause peace or comfort. He's lucky he's alive still, to be honest.”

The man has been detained while police investigate his intent.

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Democrats reject push to alert ICE when illegal immigrants fail firearm background checks

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Police Arrest Suspect In Downtown Double Stabbing

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