The outpouring of activism around gun control in the wake of the shooting in Parkland last week has resulted in a windfall for those groups pushing for more restrictive measures. Giffords, the organization founded by former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, said that it has raised more than $1.2 million in the week since the school shooting. That’s an impressive sum for any non-profit. What’s more impressive, however, is how it was raised. An official with Giffords told The Daily Beast that the money came from more than 43,000 donors, with the average donation being around $27. That was of Thursday morning. More than 450,000 people have also signed the organization’s “vote courage” pledge, which encourages electoral activism around the issue of gun control. Elections are the ultimate vehicle for political change. But money is the fuel for that vehicle. And, already, the group is making use of its donations. Giffords announced on Wednesday that it was going up with a six-figure ad buy attacking Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s record on gun safety issues. Scott is expected to soon announce a 2018 run for the Senate.
—Sam Stein
