The major gun-control groups have pulled back ahead of their opponents in the 2024 money race.
The top three organizations pushing for new gun restrictions outpaced the largest gun-rights groups in June, according to Federal Election Commission records released this week. Giffords, Everytown, and Brady combined to raise $588,386 for their respective Political Action Committees (PACs). Meanwhile, the National Rifle Association’s Political Victory Fund brought in $513,913 and none of the other gun-rights groups who report monthly totals raised more than twenty thousand dollars.
That reverses the outcome of the previous month, where the NRA alone managed to outraise the gun-control groups for the first time this year.
June’s fundraising totals highlight the NRA’s continued decline as a political force more than a surge in fundraising by the gun-control groups. The slipping number from the NRA coincides with a drastic downturn in the group’s membership, largely driven by its ongoing corruption scandal, because its PAC can only solicit NRA members. The failure to improve its PAC fundraising could indicate the NRA has yet to see a rebound in membership, despite electing a slate of reform candidates who’ve spoken about bringing greater transparency to the group’s operations and use of donor funds.
Shortly after his surprise victory in the May leadership elections, NRA CEO Doug Hamlin told The Reload he planned to bring the group back to its former glory. He said it was a new day for the group after former CEO Wayne LaPierre was found liable by a jury for misusing millions of dollars of NRA funds.
“We want to welcome all of our members to the new NRA,” Hamlin said. “We want to welcome those that we’ve lost in the past five years to come back to us. And we want them to bring friends and family with them.”
The group saw an uptick in political donations that month, but it has failed to sustain that momentum so far. But Hamlin said the group would remain committed to turning out gun voters in November, which could eventually pay dividends.
“The NRA is going to continue to stand for the very best in Second Amendment advocacy,” he told The Reload in May. “We have a tremendous track record of success, with 29 constitutional carry states. And, with November rapidly approaching, we’re going to sharpen our focus to help turn the vote out.”
The poor fundraising numbers may also help explain why Donald Trump and the Republican Party have gone nearly silent on gun rights in recent weeks and why the NRA didn’t receive a speaking slot at last week’s Republican National Convention.
Neither the NRA nor the gun-control groups responded to a request for comment.
The NRA’s total came in $130,000 below the month before. It was also well off its historical fundraising pace at this point in a presidential election cycle. In June 2020, the NRA’s PAC raised more than $1.1 million. In 2016, it racked up over $1.3 million–nearly $800,000 more than in 2024.
The gun-control groups experienced a similar struggle to match their fundraising efforts in previous presidential election years. Giffords raised nearly $40,000 more than the same period in 2020 but was down more than $800,000 from 2016. Brady brought in nearly seven times as much in June 2020 as it did this year.
It wasn’t all bad news for the NRA. Its PAC still raised the most money of any gun group in June and was well ahead of its pro-gun rivals. The National Shooting Sports Foundation’s PAC raised $20,844, the one for the National Association for Gun Rights brought in $11,288, and the Gun Owners of America PAC cleared just $5,713.
A few gun-rights groups that file on a quarterly basis rather than monthly reported their latest fundraising hauls this week as well. The Protect Liberty PAC, a second NSSF group, brought in $116,563 between April and June. The United States Concealed Carry Association’s PAC collected even more, topping off at $300,947 over the same three months.
The gun-control groups also outpaced the gun-rights group’s spending in June by a margin of $463,608 to $275,581. The NRA has also avoided activating the Super PAC it relied on during the 2020 election, transferring just $400 to the group in June despite sending over $800,000 to it during the same month during the previous presidential race.
