See NRA Grades For Washington Members Of Congress

SEATTLE, WA - Washingtonians awoke Monday morning to news that more than 50 people had been killed and over 400 wounded in a mass shooting in Las Vegas. The act of terror happened Sunday night when the gunman, Stephen Paddock, started firing automatic weapons from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino at a crowd attending the Route 91 country music festival.

This is the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, and mass shootings like this often have political repercussions. After the Sandy Hook shooting, for example, a dozen gun control laws were proposed at the federal level. The state of Connecticut enacted strict state-level restrictions on guns after Sandy Hook.

Simultaneously, the National Rifle Association (NRA) can be relied on to oppose any type of gun control, no matter the death toll of the shooting. The NRA applies political pressure on members of Congress by giving them grades on how pro-gun they are. Politicians with higher grades can get access to NRA campaign contributions and a fervent voter base.

The NRA restricts access to those grades to members, but the New York Times has kept a record of the NRA grades from the post-Sandy Hook era. Here's how local politicians rated in 2012, according to the Times (Patch.com will be reaching out to elected officials Monday to get more up-to-date information):

• U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Renton: C-
• U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Longiew: A
• U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Issaquah: B-
• U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor: B
• U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Spokane: A
• U.S. Rep. Denny Heck, D-Olympia: C+
• U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-WA: F
• U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-WA: F

Another pro-gun group, Gun Owners of America, made its grades for the 2016 cycle available. Here's how Washington officials ranked during that election cycle:

• U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Renton: F
• U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Seattle: F
• U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Longiew: C
• U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Issaquah: C-
• U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor: F-
• U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Spokane: B-
• U.S. Rep. Denny Heck, D-Olympia: F
• U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Yakima: A
• U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Redmond: F
• U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-WA: F
• U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-WA: F

During the 2016 election cycle, only one Washington politician received money from the NRA's political action committee, according to campaign finance records. U.S. Rep Dan Newhouse, R-Yakima, took $3,000 from the NRA.

In 2014, Beutler, Reichert, and Rodgers each received $2,000 from the NRA. Doc Hastings, who Newhouse replaced, got $1,000. Joyce McDonald got a $1,000 contribution in 2o14, but she lost the election to Heck (McDonald now represents the 25th District in Pierce County in the state House).

Image via Mike Stewart/Associated Press