With Mike Bloomberg officially entering the 2020 race, he just did us 2A supporters a MASSIVE favor believe it or not. You see, Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action are “non-partisan”, right? Well......
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg officially entered the 2020 Democratic race Sunday with a potent asset: The vast trove of email addresses amassed by Moms Demand Action, the nonpartisan gun control advocacy organization hosted under the umbrella of Everytown for Gun Safety, which Bloomberg co-founded and largely finances.
So he’s using their resources, a 501(c)4 not for profit, as a platform for his personal run for office. Not good:
That opens the door for a question: could Everytown/MDA possibly lose their tax exempt status due to the founder/main financial backer using the organization for his personal run, as he’s running as a declared political party candidate, yet using a “social welfare” not-for-profit as a major outreach resource? That’s not the favor he did for us though. This is:
https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5ddc548be4b0913e6f71f17f Two years later, gun control activists in the Philadelphia suburb of Bucks County lobbied Everytown for Gun Safety not to endorse Fitzpatrick over Democrat Scott Wallace. They sent letters signed by more than 50 members of Moms Demand Action, a branch of the gun control group, noting Fitzpatrick didn’t support many of the group’s policy priorities and questioning his opposition to concealed carry reciprocity ― the stated reason for a potential Everytown endorsement. Everytown endorsed him anyway, leading Moms Demand Action volunteers to quit the group en masse, form their own organization ― Orange Wave ― and back Wallace instead.
“The group disbanded because we were left in the dark and expected to fall in line,” said Allison Glickman, one of the co-founders of Orange Wave. “It was upsetting, because Scott Wallace was clearly stronger on this issue.”
Glickman said Moms Demand Action volunteers felt “betrayed” by Bloomberg, and added she was peeved the billionaire was using the group’s email list for his presidential campaign.
“It’s frustrating that I recruited all these moms to fight gun violence, and now he’s using it to help his presidential campaign,” she said. “And he’s using it to help candidates who are horrible on this issue.”
Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who competed against McGinty unsuccessfully in the Democratic Senate primary in 2016, was more subtle.
“As a Democratic candidate for president, Mr. Bloomberg makes an excellent Republican donor,” he said.
Bloomberg bought out Moms Demand Action in 2013 and used it to merge them with Mayors Against Illegal Guns in 2013 to form Everytown.
MDA’s only stand alone 990
