They found that lobbying and political contributions were both successful in moving regulation because: outspent its pro-gun control opponent by more than six to one 2) The Nark’s consistent contributions which affected previous positions of legislators resulted in highly significant effects on their policy positions 3) A substantial 38. % of legislators switched their votes on their policy position, and 4) Pro-gun control lobbying had a significant impact on winning the battle over interstate sales of handguns. 2 In my examination of this particular situation, simultaneity and selection are not the likely reasons behind persuasion. First, with regards to simultaneity, the contribution variable tested in the study only includes money received before the April 1986 vote, which means the independent variable precedes the dependent variable.
There also had not been previous votes on the same gun issue for 20 years prior to the McClure-Polymer Bill, which reduces the likelihood of interpreting the effects of the contributions and lobbying as a reward for previous legislator votes on the gun issue. 3 Second, this study also tested independent variables aside from bobbing and contributions alone, including characteristics of the member’s constituency and legislators’ previous policy positions, to test for confounding variables and found no significant selection issues.
Previous policy positions were largely impacted and connected to previous political contributions. Also, Fenny found that characteristics of a member’s constituency were insignificant in changing votes because constituents were unlikely to punish members for an “aberration of his or her position” if the vote could be explained. Ultimately, it appears that political persuasion via contributions and lobbying with the FOP regulation was successful, which also fits with the Appellant model.
The regulation of the firearms industry aligns with the relatively competitive nature of the industry. Additionally, this particular regulation helped spark industry profit due to increased opportunity for sale of firearms and ammunition, which drove consumer political support of legislators who vote in favor of the regulation. Firearms Industry Paper By nightshades
