Gun control groups spend millions on
state ballot initiatives
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[November 02, 2016]
By Joseph Ax
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Gun safety advocates
are pouring tens of millions of dollars into Maine and Nevada to support
ballot initiatives that would mandate background checks for gun sales in
an effort to clinch state-level victories after years of failed drives
in Congress.
The avalanche of money spent on supporting such initiatives ahead of the
Nov. 8 vote could hand gun control organizations their biggest win since
they failed to secure the passage of federal legislation after the
massacre of 26 children and educators at a Newtown, Connecticut,
elementary school in December 2012.
Voters in California and Washington state will also cast ballots on gun
control initiatives, and opinion polls show the measures are likely to
pass in all four states.
Everytown for Gun Safety, the gun control group founded by billionaire
former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, has been leading the
charge, throwing its financial weight behind three of the four measures.
The organization plans to spend $25 million nationwide on the issue,
almost as much as the powerful National Rifle Association has spent on
television advertising for Republican presidential candidate Donald
Trump.
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The right to own firearms is protected by the Second Amendment of the
U.S. Constitution, and any efforts to restrict that guarantee are fought
vehemently by gun rights advocates, who are highly influential within
the Republican Party.
Victories by gun control groups in Maine and Nevada would mean that half
of the U.S. population would live in states with expanded background
checks, including private sales not involving a licensed dealer.
Gun control supporters say that would be a symbolic and strategically
important threshold.
Opponents of the measures say the laws are poorly written, would do
little to combat crime and would punish law-abiding gun owners.
A University of New Hampshire poll in late October found 52 percent of
Maine residents support the measure and 43 percent oppose it. In Nevada,
two polls in late October found a 16-percentage-point margin and a
25-point margin in favor of the initiative, respectively.
The measures come in a year that voters around the United States will
weigh in on 71 citizen-submitted ballot initiatives on topics ranging
from marijuana legalization to raising the minimum wage, the largest
number in a decade, according to Ballotpedia.org, a website that tracks
voting data.
EXPENSIVE BATTLEGROUND
Everytown described its strategy as part of an effort to copy the
state-by-state tactic that helped legalize gay marriage across the
United States, with Congress unwilling to pass universal background
check legislation.
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![](../images/110216PICS/news_d7.jpg)
A pedestrian walks past a sign reading "AR15 Get Yours While You
Still Can" outside the IDC Firearms gun shop in Clinton,
Massachusetts, U.S. June 21, 2016. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo
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"One of the great advantages of going directly to the electorate is
that you can go around the legislative bodies and make law," said
Zach Silk, a consultant who has worked with Everytown in Nevada and
previously helped oversee Washington state's 2014 successful
background-check ballot initiative.
Nevada in particular has become an expensive battleground. Bloomberg
has personally donated nearly $10 million to the effort there, and
Nevadans for Background Checks had collected $14.3 million as of
Oct. 18. That is nearly triple the $4.8 million that the leading
opposition group, NRA Nevadans for Freedom, had received, all from
the NRA.
In Maine, supporters of background checks have outspent opponents by
more than 5-to-1, with the Everytown-backed Mainers for Responsible
Gun Ownership Fund reporting $5.3 million in contributions as of
last week.
The NRA did not respond to a request for comment on its campaign
spending decisions.
Critics have accused Bloomberg of trying to buy victory.
"This law is convoluted and way overregulatory," said David Trahan,
the executive director of the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine and a
former state legislator. "It reflects the person funding this
initiative, Michael Bloomberg. His solutions are overkill, and they
border on social engineering."
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2016/Nov/02/images/ads/current/Martin_Farms_daily_sda_2015.png)
But Everytown's executive director, John Feinblatt, said it was the
gun lobby that has tried to take power away from the citizenry.
"While the NRA can control legislators and the government, they
can't control the people," he said.
(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Scott Malone and Jonathan Oatis)
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