One of the ways the KKK and Aryan Nations were defeated was by driving them into bankruptcy. It appears we are doing the same thing to the anti-gun organizations.
The following are some numbers from some of the non-profit anti-gun organizations. There are other organizations but these appear to be the largest and oldest. My entire spreadsheet is here (.XLS Office Excel format). I obtained the numbers from the IRS filings I found here. The 1998 numbers were not available for Brady and the VPC. I used 1997 numbers instead. All numbers are in dollars.
Their revenue has been falling and they have reduced expenditures some but the net asset numbers have crashed. This is great news for us and partially explains why the politicians are paying attention to the NRA. The NRA and other pro gun organizations numbers are increasing (analysis some other day).
Total Revenue
Expenses
Net Assets
The Brady assets are 34% that of their peak in 1999.
The VPC and Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence (EFSGV) assests are currently so small it’s tough to see them on the graph and most individuals have a greater net worth.
The VPC as of the end of 2005 was down to $98,162 This is 11% of their peak in 2002.
The EFSGV as of the end of 2005 was down to $30,624. This is 8% of their peak in 2003.
We need to keep the pressure on and drive them completely out of business. If we could only use some sort of lawsuit such as what the Southern Law Poverty Center did to some other bigoted organizations. Organized bigots have no place in our society.
Holy poop on a Popsicle stick, batman.
I think I spend more money on guns and reloading supplies than the EFSGV made in 2005!
Well, it feels like it when you hear my wife complain about the firearm related bills 😉
Don’t forget the Joyce Foundation, which makes fairly large grants to the VPC on a regular basis.
http://www.joycefdn.org/GrantList/Default.aspx
Another little mentioned issue is membership. NRA has around 4 million dues paying members, while the Brady center AFAIK doesn’t release ‘membership’ numbers. In fact, their web-site has no ‘join’ only a ‘donate’ section. So really, Brady doesn’t have ANY dues paying members!
But I’m guessing that’s NOT how they present themselves to lawmakers. Why? Because I once subscribed to their e-mail list to keep tabs on them, and the emails kept referring to me as a ‘member’! So, to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Ownership, even people who are diametrically opposed to their mission, and only sign up for emails to stay apprised of their evil doings are called ‘members’. It took me several strongly worded letters to get taken off that list. The ‘unsubscribe’ link in the emails NEVER worked. I finally got the mails to stop by writing to the Brady site webmaster and telling them I had just reported them to the FCC under the CANSPAM Act, because the unsubscribe didn’t work. (Which I did in fact do.)