Pro-gun Confiscation Group Receives a Wuhan Virus Handout
Jose Nino
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Last week one of the premier anti-Second Amendment groups received a sizeable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan.
According to the Washington Free Beacon, 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.”
Interestingly, Brady’s political branch, Brady PAC spent a cool $4 million to help get former Vice President Joe Biden and other pro-gun control candidates elected. In a time when humbler small business operations are going under, Brady was still able to receive government aid.
Sure, goes to show where D.C.’s priorities are.
Liam Sullivan, a spokesman for the Brady Center, defended his organization’s decision to turn to the government for help, claiming that the pandemic dented the organization’s funding. Additionally, the pandemic caused the Brady Center to scrap fundraising events and even its annual gala.
“Like other nonprofits, the Brady Center is funded by giving and fundraising events, both of which obviously have been impacted and will be impacted for the foreseeable future,” he remarked. “We just applied and were approved, obviously, under the same sort of criteria as others with concerns for payroll.”
The Free Beacon noted how there is a strong chance that the government aid could be used by Brady for electoral purposes:
Sullivan also emphasized that the Brady Center and Brady PAC are legally separate groups and the Brady Center is not involved in election spending. It is, however, common for money to be moved between aligned organizations like the Brady Center, Campaign, and PAC. Federal records show the Brady PAC paid the Brady Campaign more than $50,000 for use of its staff and travel reimbursements in April, and the Brady Center reported owing the Brady Campaign more than $1.1 million in 2015.
Furthermore, SBA documents revealed that other anti-Second Amendment groups have received aid from the PPP program, which was allegedly created to help small businesses keep their doors open during the Wuhan virus shutdowns.
The Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence was able to receive a loan between $150,000 and $350,000 at the end of April in order to meet payment obligations for its employees. Giffords unveiled a national tour in support of anti-gun candidates that is being led by the advocacy wing of its organization. The group announced it plans on spending a “six figure sum in online engagement” on the tour.
“This is the year we will elect a gun safety majority in the Senate,” former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords declared in a statement.
However, on the pro-gun side of the aisle, no prominent organizations were able to receive loans. Free Beacon highlighted the following:
A Free Beacon review of the Small Business Administration records did not find listings for PPP loans given to prominent gun-rights groups, though the disclosures only include loans of more than $150,000. The National Rifle Association, which has struggled during the pandemic and even had to lay off a significant number of staff members, confirmed that none of its arms had taken any PPP loans.
Similarly, Alan Gottlieb, the chairman of the Citizens’ Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, said that no branch of his organization received PPP loans. Gottlieb cited ethical concerns about taking on government loans and using them for political advocacy.
“As chairman of the Citizens’ Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and the executive vice president of the Second Amendment Foundation, since one of the arms is political, I would not have applied for it,” Gottlieb said to the Free Beacon. “I don’t think it’s appropriate.”
Gottlieb urged the anti-gun organizations to return the money they received from the government.
“I find it appalling they applied for, took, and even got PPP loans,” Gottlieb declared. “The Brady Center and Giffords should give the money back. Gun owners in this country shouldn’t have their tax dollars used to support groups that want to take their guns away.”
Knowing the Left and its political appendages, they will most likely not even bother to return these loans. Their entire existence is predicated on government largesse and using the state to advance their political agenda
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