HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A firearms industry trade and lobbying organization secretly built a database containing the personal information of millions of gun owners and used the data to reach gun rights supporters with political ads dating back to the 2000 elections, according to a new lawsuit.

The suit against the National Shooting Sports Foundation, based in Shelton, Conn., alleges the organization obtained the data from major gun manufacturers, the customers of which never agreed to share their personal information for political purposes. The suit filed by two gun owners alleges “unjust enrichment” by NSSF for benefiting from using gun owners’ information without paying for it.

The NSSF, the members of which include thousands of gun manufacturers, distributors and retail shops, did not respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking comment. The organization has said that there was nothing illegal or improper about its data collection.

The lawsuit, filed in Connecticut on Sept. 22, seeks class-action status on behalf of gun owners nationwide. It seeks damages in excess of $5 million but does not provide a specific dollar amount.

The plaintiffs are gun owners Daniel Cocanour of Oklahoma and Dale Rimkus of Illinois, who provided their personal information to gun makers when they filled out warranty cards after buying firearms, the lawsuit says. The cards are used by consumers to obtain rebates and repair or replace their firearms.

The NSSF began compiling its database in 1999 using warranty card information from manufacturers in the wake of the shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado, as gun companies sought to defend their industry against legal action and protect their image, the lawsuit says.

The cards provided a wealth of information about firearms buyers, including contact information, gender, age, income, interests, what vehicles they own and why they bought a gun, according to the lawsuit.

By May 2001, the database contained 3.4 million records, including 523,000 from warranty cards and 2.9 million from voter and hunting license lists, the suit says.

Less than a year later, the database — called “Data Hunter” — had grown to 5.5 million records, with the NSSF revealing in an internal document that several firearms manufacturers including Glock, Smith & Wesson, Marlin Firearms and Savage Arms were contributing customer data, the lawsuit says. Those companies did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.