Orlando shooting spurs criticism of NRA donations to Congress

Criticism of the National Rifle Association is always rampant following mass shootings. The criticism hasn’t done much to increase gun regulation in the past, but that won’t stop some people from trying.

After the Orlando shooting early Sunday at a gay nightclub, leaving 50 dead and 53 injured, members of Congress quickly took to Twitter to offer thoughts and prayers to the victims.

That wasn’t good enough for Igor Volsky, deputy director for the left-leaning Center for American Progress Action Fund, who quickly started tweeting each individual representative and senator who took NRA donations for their campaigns.

The New York Daily News added their voice to the criticism, with a front page Monday that screamed, “Thanks, NRA,” next to a photo of shooter Omar Mateen, who reportedly pledged loyalty to ISIS before the attack at the nightclub. Mateen was killed during a shootout with police. He was on a terror watchlist but was taken off before the shooting, and he obtained the firearms and ammunition legally.

Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., tweeted Sunday night that the moments of silence on the House floor had become an “abomination” and he would no longer participate in them.

Republicans have mostly not mentioned gun control, focusing on Mateen’s ties to ISIS and a need to combat radical Islamic terrorism.

This story was originally published June 13, 2016 at 10:10 AM with the headline "Orlando shooting spurs criticism of NRA donations to Congress."