One of the many often-parroted talking points among gun control proponents is that any lawmaker who supports the Second Amendment is somehow “bought and paid for” by the National Rifle Association. Of course, the NRA is far from the biggest donors to political campaigns out there, but that fact never seems to figure into the discussion. It’s the proverbial 800-pound gorilla of gun politics and anti-gunners are convinced it’s only that way because it’s buying politicians.

However, if spending money during campaigns essentially buying lawmakers, then gun control groups are buying politicians by the truckload.

October brought more donations to candidates in Virginia’s elections and more knocks on constituent doors from both sides of the gun lobby.

Democratic coffers — which have reached historic levels of reported fundraising — swelled with October donations from Everytown for Gun Safety, a lobby group focused on reducing gun violence.

Everytown contributed $938,238 to the Democratic party in 2019, according to The Virginia Public Access Project. Over $600,000 of that total was given in September.

Everytown outspent the National Rifle Association this year, which donated $273,000 to Republican candidates. In September, based on campaign finance reports, the NRA donated a little over $54,000.

So Everytown spent five times as much as the NRA. When will we start seeing reports of how VA Democrats are bought and paid for by Michael Bloomberg in the pages of the New York Times or the Washington Post?

What’s that? We won’t?

Of course we won’t, and for good reason. It’s because they’re not.

But neither are the pro-gun lawmakers.

The truth of the matter is that both Everytown and the NRA back politicians who hold stances on guns that they like. They throw money and officials who already hold those positions. It’s easier to keep a politician who actually agrees with you in office than it is to buy a legislator who doesn’t really agree and keep him on your side.

After all, once bought, how do you keep them bought for your side?

You can’t, and that’s what’s so stupid about these claims of the anti-gun left. However, if they’re going to keep pushing the claim, I’m going to keep countering with how much groups like Everytown spend on elections. If the NRA is buying politicians with their donations then so is Everytown.

What bothers me is the rank hypocrisy of it. It’s one thing to take issue with groups like the NRA. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and even within the gun rights movement there are those who aren’t fans of the NRA.

The problem is that people aren’t entitled to their own facts. If NRA donations somehow result in politicians being bought, you’re going to have to convince me that anti-gun lawmakers are somehow more pure than their pro-gun colleagues. You’re not going to pull that one off no matter how hard you try.

The truth of the matter is that I don’t think even they don’t really believe their own rhetoric. Either they don’t believe what they’re saying or they’re somehow convinced that the only people who do believe what they’re saying are the anti-gun politicians, which is more daft than usual from this crowd.

Though, it’s also possible that they’re buying politicians and simply can’t fathom the NRA not doing the same thing.