Did you ever wonder why the original Million Mom March group folded abruptly about 15 years ago?
They were registered as a 501c3 charity, but they engaged in not only political lobbying (which is a no-no), but they also endorsed political candidates. When the IRS caught up to them, they promptly folded. …Folded under, one might say, the wing of the Brady Campaign.
The Brady Campaign was formerly known as Handgun Control, Inc. and before that the Coalition to Ban Handguns. See how their names change to further conceal their true mission?
The Brady Campaign was at one time the nation’s premier gun grabbing group. Now they are also-rans, struggling not only to attract grant money since they have few or no dues-paying members, but also struggling for relevance in today’s world. See, former Mayor Bloomberg has dumped a cool $50M a year into the Everytown Clan of groups, relegating the Brady Campaign to back bencher status with their meager 3 million in income. Even worse, Brady’s last foray into serious activism, via promoting a lawsuit against gun makers, ended poorly for not only the Brady’s but also the family who acted as plaintiff’s in the suit as they were ordered to pay over $200,000 in legal fees (which they plan to donate to a number of state-level gun rights groups).
Today, the Brady Bunch are endorsing like crazy:
- Brady Campaign Endorses Brad Schneider in Illinois 10th Congressional Bid
- Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence Endorses Congressman Ed Markey for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts Special Election
- Brady Campaign, Chapters Endorse Chuck Riley for Oregon State Senate
- Brady Campaign, Chapters Endorse N.Y. Sen. Mark Grisanti for Re-Election
- Brady Campaign Endorses Lt. Governor Brown for Maryland Governor
And, of course, the big one:
The IRS has strict rules on this:
Under the Internal Revenue Code, all section 501(c)(3) organizations are prohibited from participating in any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office. The prohibition applies to campaigns at the federal, state, and local level. Violation of this prohibition may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of certain excise taxes.
The Brady Campaign is a 501c4, and the Brady Center group is a 501c3, however the groups are practically interchangeable in the real world. Entering the URL for the Brady Center takes you to the Brady Campaign and clicking “donate” on the Brady Campaign’s website touts their 501c3 status.
As it is, the Brady Bunch has been playing fast and loose with the IRS for years. Scores of the Brady Campaign “Grassroots” Chapters have had their corporate status revoked for failing to submit proper paperwork to the IRS.
Including several in the Chicagoland area. From the IRS:
| 41-2053997 | BRADY CAMPAIGN TO PREVENT GUN
(NORTHERN SUBURBAN CHICAGO LAND MMMC)
|
WASHINGTON | DC | 20005 | US | 501(c)(4) | 15-May-2012 | 11-Feb-2013 |
|
| 16-1621121 | BRADY CAMPAIGN TO PREVENT GUN
(SW CHICAGOLAND MILL MOM MARCH CHAP)
|
WASHINGTON | DC | 20005 | US | 501(c)(4) | 15-May-2012 | 11-Feb-2013 |
|
| 03-0469593 | BRADY CAMPAIGN TO PREVENT GUN
(CHICAGO SURVIVORS MILL MOM MARCH CH)
|
WASHINGTON | DC | 20005 | US | 501(c)(4) | 15-May-2012 | 11-Feb-2013 |
Read more detail about Hillary and the Brady Campaign’s coming tax problems here.
Lights Out for the Brady Campaign and Hillary Clinton
I broke the back of the anti-Second Amendment Million Mom March in 2000 by exposing its use of 501(c)(3) tax-exempt money to endorse House candidates on its Apple Pie Award web pages. The organization crumpled up when columnist J.R. Labbe published the information I sent her and was later found to have filed a highly creative Form 990 tax return in which the organization told the IRS that it had spent no money to influence legislation. The organization liquidated in 2001, and the current Million Mom March is not the same corporate entity.
I also noted in an American Thinker piece:
We also need to ask Ms. Clinton publicly and frequently how much 501(c)(3) tax exempt money she plans to divert to her campaign next year the way she helped the Million Mom March divert 501(c)(3) funds to Al Gore’s campaign as well as those of Democratic House candidates in 2000.
I discovered today (after an online argument with some gun control supporters) that the Brady Campaign to Prevent Handgun Violence was actually stupid enough to do this, and that Hillary Clinton welcomed the diversion of 501(c)(3) tax-exempt resources to her presidential campaign:
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence will endorse Hillary Clinton for president Tuesday in Iowa, the former secretary of state’s campaign announced.
There’s more…
…The Republican Party and NRA need to immediately call out Ms. Clinton by pointing out Brady’s tax-exempt status and asking whether she will therefore reject the group’s endorsement. This, of course, requires her to (1) embarrass herself and the entire anti-Second Amendment movement by admitting that Brady is diverting tax-exempt money to an election or (2) make herself a party to the illegal use of tax-exempt money. Either choice is probably the end of the road for her because of the importance of gun control to her campaign.
This is far from Brady’s only diversion of its tax-exempt resources into political campaigns, as shown by the list below. These links are all on the Brady Campaign’s own website and cannot therefore be dismissed as fabrications or internet rumors. Those who cannot learn from their own history are doomed to repeat it, and this should be the end of the line for the Brady Campaign itself rather than just the Million Mom March.
- Brady Campaign Endorses Brad Schneider in Illinois 10th Congressional Bid
- Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence Endorses Congressman Ed Markey for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts Special Election
- Brady Campaign, Chapters Endorse Chuck Riley for Oregon State Senate
- Brady Campaign, Chapters Endorse N.Y. Sen. Mark Grisanti for Re-Election
- Brady Campaign Endorses Lt. Governor Brown for Maryland Governor
The Brady Campaign website claims donations to the Brady Center are deductible. But there’s not a lot of clarity between the two groups – and what’s more, if you enter the Brady Center’s web URL, it redirects you to the Brady Campaign’s website. While this might pass muster under the Obama regime’s IRS, after January 20, 2017, the Brady’s are probably officially doomed.
Wanna be a pain in the rear end for the Brady Bunch and line yourself up for a cash reward from the IRS?
Download this one-page form, fill it out and send it in.
Specifically, put down the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence’s EIN: 52-1285097
Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence
840 FIRST STREET NE Suite 400
WASHINGTON , DC 2 0 0 0 2
check the box, “Organization is involved in a political campaign”.
Read the above article from the American Thinker, then put in the details of the Brady endorsements of candidates.
SUBMISSION AND DOCUMENTATION: The completed form, along with any supporting documentation, may be mailed to IRS EO Classification, Mail Code 4910DAL, 1100 Commerce Street Dallas, TX 75242-1198, faxed to 214-413-5415 or emailed to eoclass@irs.gov.
And smile. You’ve done a good deed.
We can only hope they get shut down, but they’ll just reform under a new name.
Silly rabbit. Those rules are for the rest of us. They don’t apply to those folks.
I think I’ll ask for my reward anyway. Thanks for the doing the research for me.