Sen. Chris Murphy used Las Vegas shooting for re-election fundraiser

Two days after the deaths of 59 people in a mass shooting in Las Vegas, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy appeared to use the mass shooting as the foundation for a fundraising solicitation designed to bolster his 2018 re-election campaign.

According to a Hartford Courant report, Murphy”™s office sent his supporters an email with the subject line “Outraged at Congressional inaction on guns?” Murphy requested email recipients to “Split a donation ”“ of any amount ”“ between the leading organizations working every day to take on the gun lobby and make our communities safer from gun violence.”

However, the donation link in the email resulted in an automatic default where funds would be sent to four entities: a trio of gun control advocacy groups and Murphy”™s re-election organization. A day later, Murphy”™s office altered the link so it would not default to donations for his re-election bid.

It is not clear how much money Murphy raised off this solicitation. A spokesperson for Murphy defended the Connecticut Democrat”™s right to raise campaign funds in the aftermath of the Las Vegas tragedy.
“The notion that this political fight needs to be suspended in the wake a mass shooting is an argument perpetuated by the gun lobby and those who want the status quo to never change,” the spokesperson said.