--- title: Parkland Shooting: Politicians Scrutinized for NRA Donations description: Lawmakers are coming under scrutiny for donations they have received from the National Rifle Association. canonical: https://time.com/5160318/florida-school-shooting-nra-donations/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-02-15T18:49:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-12T21:58:54.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Here's How Much the NRA Has Given to Florida Lawmakers og:description: The donations have been under scrutiny since a shooting og:url: https://time.com/5160318/florida-school-shooting-nra-donations/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3c26b51c9b28fb73/698927c9bc6cfc5df93e5093/kristi-gilroy-florida-school-shooting.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Florida Town Of Parkland In Mourning, After Shooting At Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Kills 17 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's How Much the NRA Has Given to Florida Lawmakers twitter:description: The donations have been under scrutiny since a shooting twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3c26b51c9b28fb73/698927c9bc6cfc5df93e5093/kristi-gilroy-florida-school-shooting.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's How Much the NRA Has Given to Florida Lawmakers > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=b2d41a1a-0822-4a56-bec9-6ec304224c67&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: A History of the AR-15 [Watch (HLS stream): A History of the AR-15](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/HWGaHwJx.m3u8) (1:53)  _Published 2016-06-14. The Orlando shooting has once again put the AR-15 back in the spotlight.A highly deadly military-style rifle, it has been the weapon of choice for several mass shooters. In the United States, the automatic AR-15 is banned, like all automatic weap_  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Updated: Dec 12, 2023 9:58 PM UTCPublished: Feb 15, 2018 6:49 PM UTC  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Updated: Dec 12, 2023 9:58 PM UTCPublished: Feb 15, 2018 6:49 PM UTC Florida lawmakers who received donations from the National Rifle Association came under scrutiny after Wednesday’s high school shooting in Parkland. After 17 people were killed when alleged shooter [Nikolas Cruz](http://time.com/5159134/who-is-the-florida-shooter-parkland-nicolas-cruz/?xid=homepage), open fire on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, many social media users highlighted how much money members of Congress have received from the gun rights group. > [](https://twitter.com/bessbell/status/963922484394278912) In the 2016 election cycle, 19 federal election candidates in Florida races received more than $40,000 from the NRA’s Political Victory Fund, the Political Action Committee, [according to the Center for Responsive Politics](https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000082&type=P&state=FL&sort=A&cycle=2016). Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who ran for both the Presidency and the Senate, raked in the highest donation, receiving $9,900\. As a PAC, the NRA can give up to $10,000 per candidate in an election cycle, $5000 for a primary election and $5000 for a general. Rubio also received an A+ [rating](https://www.nraila.org/articles/20160707/nra-endorses-marco-rubio-for-us-senate) from the NRA. Florida has relatively relaxed gun laws, which could have eased the path for this shooting; no permit is required to purchase a firearm or handgun, according to the NRA, and there is requirement to register these weapons, although a permit is necessary to carry a handgun. In 2016, the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence gave Florida an “F” on the stringency of its gun laws. These laws are drafted by state legislatures—not Congressmen and Senators—and signed by the Governor, in this case Rick Scott. Scott who is strongly considering a Senate run to challenge Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson, is like Rubio, a favorite among the NRA, who noted [in 2014](https://www.nraila.org/articles/20140623/alert-governor-rick-scott-makes-history-signing-5-pro-gun-bills) that he had signed “more pro-gun bills into law — in one term — than any other Governor in Florida history.” Nelson and Scott have contrasting ratings from the NRA: Nelson has an F and Scott has an A+. When asked Wednesday evening about gun control laws following the shooting, Scott said there would be a time for those conversations in the future. He was also somewhat evasive when asked why a teenager was able to have an AR-15 rifle, saying an [investigation](https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/963966822574952449) was underway and it would be hard to determine a response without those facts. _Correction: The original version of this story misstated the amount of money candidates for federal political office from Florida received from the National Rifle Association in 2016\. They received more than $40,000\. They did not receive $834,165, which was the total amount contributed by the NRA to federal candidates during the cycle._ ## Transcript Look at that, they're shooting back- On June 12th, a gunman entered a gay night club in Orlando, killing 49 people and injuring dozens of others. It was the worst mass shooting in US history. The gunman used an AR- 15, which is a semi- automatic rifle and the civilian version of the M- 16. It was first used for military purposes in the 1950s. [ MUSIC ] By the 1960s it was converted for civilian use. Similar rifles have been used in the mass shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, San Bernardino and a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. Air 15 style weapons are light weight, generally less than 10 pounds, accurate, and can hold high- capacity ammunition magazines usually 30 rounds. Users can easily customize the gun for closer harm- range targets. And is becoming a go to weapon on movies and television. Jake. The AR- 15 can be modified to be both semi- automatic, meaning it can fire off one shot each time you pull the trigger or fully automatic, meaning it continuously fires with the trigger held. The AR- 15 is a legal firearm, but it's possession is heavily restricted in several States. Attaining one though can be as easy as filling out a form and going through a background check. In Florida, There is no waiting period between purchase of a rifle like an AR- 15 and receiving it and there are no limits on magazine capacity. AR- 15 style weapons were banned in 1994 under the federal assault weapons ban. But this is a lay down no brainer. And the congress must not walk away from it. The bill was challenged several times in court for violating the second amendment and it expired in 2004 It has not been renewed by Congress. After the incident in Orlando, there will likely be increased calls on renewing the assault weapons ban to prevent future mass shootings. 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