As expected, talk of a gun control debate in Washington has begun in the wake of the Las Vegas massacre earlier this week.
To help its readers understand where their congressional representatives might stand on the issue, Politico recently shared an online tool that offers a glimpse into how much money Congress members receive from gun lobbyists.
Three current Utah representatives (and one former one), all Republicans, received contributions during the 2016 election cycle from gun rights lobbyists, according to Politico.
Here’s a breakdown of the numbers:
- Rep. Mia Love: $63,350
- Rep. Rob Bishop: $14,500
- Rep. Chris Stewart: $7,000
- Rep. Jason Chaffetz: $14,500
Chaffetz resigned from Congress on June 30. This tool comes during the same week as the biggest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, where a lone gunman took the lives of 59 people and injured more than 500 more at a country music festival in Las Vegas.
“Attention is being thrust back on the gun lobby as lawmakers give gun control measures a fresh look in the wake of the Las Vegas mass shooting — the deadliest in modern U.S. history,” according to Politico.
Politico used data from the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group that found more than half of the House of Representatives received money from gun rights groups, like the National Rifle Association.
In total, $5.9 million went to Republicans, while only $106,000 went to Democrats, Politico reported.
Republicans and Democrats have already begun speaking about the impact of Sunday's shooting on the nationwide gun debate, according to The New York Times.
Sen. Mitch McConnell said it was "particularly inappropriate" to talk about gun legislation so close to the shooting.
“Look, the investigation’s not even been completed,” McConnell said. “And I think’s it’s premature to be discussing legislative solutions, if there are any.”
Democrats, meanwhile, feel stuck with the ongoing debate, which has raged for years as the NRA has acted a lobbying group in Washington (a turn from its original nonpolitical aims, as The New York Times podcast, "The Daily," outlined).
“We are stuck,” Rep. Linda T. Sánchez of California, the vice chairwoman of the House Democratic caucus, told The New York Times. “We have asked time and time again of our Republican counterparts to please engage in this discussion of how do we stop gun violence, and they are completely unwilling to do anything to help us out on that issue.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., also urged President Donald Trump to support changes to gun laws after the shooting.
"President Trump has an opportunity to wrench his party out of the grasp of the NRA and get our country and our Congress to start talking about commonsense gun safety reforms," Schumer said, according to The Hill.
He said Trump has an opportunity to do something special.
"I'd say to the president, 'Mr. President, you have opportunity to buck the NRA, buck the gun lobbyists, buck the swamp and lead this country in an adult conversation about gun violence,'" Schumer said.