Microsoft founder and technology mogul Bill Gates, along with his wife Melinda, donated $1 million to the Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility, a gun-control advocacy group, according to CNN Money.This brings the total amount the campaign has cultivated up to nearly $6 million.
The group would require background checks for all gun purchases and transfers in the state of Washington, including at gun shows and private sales. Exemptions would exist under the measure, including gifts within a family and antiques.
The couple said they believe Washington Alliance "will be an effective and balanced approach to improving gun safety in our state by closing existing loopholes for background checks," according to a statement.
The Gates are only the latest tech billionaires to donate large sums of money.
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen gave $500,000 to the gun-control group, while retired Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer gave $250,000, and his wife contributed $330,000. Tech venture capitalist Nick Hanauer also contributed an extra $1 million in addition to his earlier donation of $335,000.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation gives billions of dollars every year to groups working to expand childhood immunization, combat poverty and hunger in developing nations and helping the poor go to college. Gates himself usually makes balanced political contributions as well. He has given $15,000 this year to both the Democratic and Republican committees seeking to elect members of the House and Senate, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
A rival campaign, Initiative 591, would stop the state from adopting background check laws that go past the national standard, which requires checks for sales by licensed dealers only and not private sellers. That campaign has raised roughly $1 million so far, according to the New York Daily News.
