AP: NRA gave $7 million to schools in recent years

The National Rifle Association (NRA) has given more than $7 million to schools in recent years, an analysis by The Associated Press found.

The AP found that the NRA Foundation had given more than $7.3 million to about 500 schools from 2010 to 2016. That funding went to school programs like junior ROTC, hunting courses and rifle teams.

California received the most funding, at more than $1 million. Florida came in second with just under $1 million in grants.

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Funding also shot up four times over from 2010 to 2014. Nearly three in four schools that benefitted from the grants were in counties that voted for President Trump in the 2016 election, according to the AP, which noted the nation’s divide over guns.

Nearly half of the grants went to junior ROTC programs. And grants are often given in the form of equipment like rifles and safety gear instead of cash.

The NRA Foundation didn’t return the AP’s requests for comment.

Both Broward County, Fla., where the mass shooting at a high school took place last month, and Denver Public Schools have announced they would no longer accept NRA funding.

However, many officials at NRA-funded programs told the AP they would continue to accept NRA grants.

The NRA has come under intense scrutiny in the weeks since the shooting in Parkland, Fla. Shooting survivors have spoken out against the gun group, and several companies have cut ties with the organization.