The NRA Brigade

Hanging sculpture of guns from another angle. Photo by Craig Mastantuono.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers on Monday ordered a special session of the GOP-controlled legislature to consider gun control legislation.

Evers’ executive order requires the legislature to convene Nov. 7 and consider legislation that would:

• Create universal background checks for all gun purchases in Wisconsin;

• Create an extreme risk protection order process, more commonly known as a red flag law, to temporarily restrict a person’s access to a gun in instances when that person is at risk of self-harm or of harming others.

GOP leaders in both houses said earlier this year that they would not support legislation that puts new restrictions on buying or possessing guns. Gun control laws are routinely opposed by the National Rifle Association (NRA), which is a strong backer of Republican legislative and statewide candidates.

The NRA has spent nearly $5.5 million during the past 20 years on outside electioneering activities to support GOP and conservative legislative and statewide candidates. Most of that, more than $4.4 million, was spent to support former GOP Gov. Scott Walker’s 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2018 campaigns for governor. Walker lost his bid for a third four-year term last November to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who has received no contributions or election support from the NRA.

In addition to outside electioneering activities, NRA political action committees have directly contributed $119,450 to all legislative and statewide candidates between January 1998 and June 2019. The top recipient of the group’s direct campaign contributions was Walker, who received $17,500 in NRA PAC contributions.

The following table shows the NRA supported about four dozen current legislators – all Republicans – with direct contributions and outside electioneering activities.

*“S” means Senate District, and “A” means Assembly District