Support builds for Florida GOP mega-donor’s ultimatum on assault weapon ban

On Monday, Al Hoffman repeated his claim on CNN that he will withhold raising any more money for Republican candidates or committees unless they embrace a ban on the sale of assault weapons to civilians.

For several years, the top GOP fundraiser had helped collect large financial donations for Republicans in both Florida and presidential races. Hoffman claims to have raised more than $600 million for Republicans during the 2000 and 2004 presidential campaigns of George W. Bush.

The North Palm Beach developer’s company, WCI, also helped construct thousands of homes in Parkland, the location of last week’s gun massacre at Marjorie Stoneham Douglas High School where 17 people died.

Hoffman said that, for him, the shooting hit home.

“I intend to contact every single Republican donor that I have in my little Rolodex file here, and I want to persuade them to hold up their check to their candidates until we can come around and create a movement here that does the right thing,” Hoffman told CNN’s Alisyn Camerota Monday morning.

Hoffman issued an email Saturday to fellow Republican donors calling them to join his refusal to bankroll Republican candidates unless they support an assault weapons ban. The ultimatum led to a story published Sunday in The New York Times.

One person that could be affected most by Hoffman’s threat is Gov. Rick Scott, who never discussed any gun control measures since he was first elected governor. Scott is expected to run for the U.S. Senate later this year against incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson.

“I have not talked to him about this particular incident, but he said that all options are on the table, I believe, and I really want to try to help persuade him to adopt this principle,” Hoffman said about how he believes Scott will feel about his proposal.

In a news conference Wednesday night, Scott declined to say whether policymakers should take a stand on gun control, insisting that “there’s a time” to have such discussions.

“There’s a movement coming,” Hoffman added, referring to the measures lawmakers passed in Connecticut after the December 2012 school massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary. “And the state of Florida better get with it and pass this assault (weapon ban).”

Legislators in Connecticut significantly expanded an existing ban on the sale of assault weapons, prohibited the sale of magazines with more than 10 rounds and required the registration of existing assault rifles and higher-capacity magazines. The state also mandated background checks for all firearms sales and created a registry of weapons offenders, including those accused of illegally possessing a firearm, The New York Times reported Sunday.

When challenged that the National Rifle Association could make up in financial contributions to GOP politicians who may no longer receive backing from Hoffman, the Republican mega-donor said he didn’t care about the gun-rights organization.

Since the publication of the Times article, Hoffman said he’s received “hundreds of tweets” from GOP donors, with a vast majority in favor of his idea.

This is not the first time that Hoffman has threatened to cut off donations if Republicans didn’t support gun control measures. In an interview with the Palm Beach Post in 2013, Hoffman said he would be reluctant to raise money for candidates who do not support “reasonable” gun control.

A measure to pass universal background checks died in the Senate in April 2013.