The liberal effort to weaken the National Rifle Association moved to a new level Wednesday when the gun-rights group's corporate sponsors were assailed for helping clear the way for the sale of weapons involved in last week's Newton, Connecticut shootings.

The black activist group ColorofChange.org is leading the effort, similar to their other bid to force out sponsors of a legal group, the American Legislative Exchange Council, which champion's so-called "Stand Your Ground," or "Shoot First," laws.

In an email to it's 850,000 supporters, ColorOfChange.org demanded that corporations cut ties to the NRA. The black civil rights group claims that their anti-ALEC campaign forced 40 sponsors to dump the legal group.

Sponsors of Friends of NRA include mostly arms, ammo and clothing companies such as Smith & Wesson and Benelli.

In their email, the group said, "ColorOfChange will continue holding corporations accountable for their continued support of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the National Rifle Association (NRA), the chief opponents of common sense laws. Corporations that continue to stand with ALEC and the NRA, like Duke Energy, State Farm, AT&T, and eBay, play a role in blocking sensible reforms that could address and prevent gun violence."

They added: "ALEC and the NRA create and push laws that make it easy for people to get high-powered assault weapons like the ones used in Newtown and so many of the tragic mass shootings that have plagued our nation. The NRA still plays a key role in crafting ALEC's model gun-access legislation and these laws destroy families and erode public safety, putting us all in harm's way. More than 40 corporations have already left ALEC, and now is the time for more companies to end their ties with ALEC and the NRA.

"Now more than ever, it is imperative that corporations that support ALEC and the NRA cut these ties and become part of solutions that can stem the violence."