Article snippet: Last week's shooting at a Parkland, Fla., high school that left 17 dead and 14 wounded has once again brought the debate over gun control to the forefront. This time, the school's students are taking the lead in demanding change at both the local level and in Washington. Critics, however, argue that pro-gun campaign money has more influence in the gun policy debate than victims of gun violence. The Second Amendment rights. But the NRA’s real power shows up in independent expenditures. It can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money supporting or opposing candidates - as long as it doesn't coordinate with the candidates. During just the 2016 election cycle, the NRA spent $54 million in the presidential and congressional races, nearly $20 million of which went to attacking Democrat Mitt Romney. A NRA spokesperson said the group spends money in elections on behalf of its five million members across America to defend their constitutional right to own guns. In the past 15 years, the pro-gun group has spent a total of more than $132 million on ads supporting or opposing presidential or congressional candidates. Here are the three U.S. senators and House members who have benefited the most from the NRA’s ad buys, according to Federal Election Commission records: SENATE Sen. Richard Burr: $6.9 million In 2016, the NRA was determined to keep North Carolina Republican Sen. Richard Burr’s seat. The group spent $5.6 million on ads attacking his Democrat... Link to the full article to read more