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Mike Bloomberg on Gun Control
Independent possibility for President
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Put the issue of illegal guns back on the national agenda
This year, we’ll also use technology to fight the #1 public safety threat in our city--and in all cities: illegal guns. Our bi-partisan coalition of Mayors Against Illegal Guns has put the issue of illegal guns back on the national agenda--beating
back federal legislation that would have made it easier to traffic in illegal guns. Convincing the federal ATF to release some of the critical trace data our officers need to track the flow of guns across state lines.
Source: 2008 State of the City Address
Jan 17, 2008
2nd Amendment doesn’t prevent keeping guns from criminals
Illegal guns is an example of cities leading where Washington has not. Those in Washington prefer talk to action. On illegal guns, they extol the virtues of the Second Amendment, but let’s get serious: protecting the Second Amendment does not stop you
from keeping illegal guns out of the hands of criminals. It’s just a political duck-and-cover that allows legislators to escape responsibility for fixing a serious problem and innocent people--and police officers--are dying as a result.
Source: Keynote Address to the US Conference of Mayors
Nov 2, 2007
Founder of Mayors Against Illegal Guns
Bloomberg is a strong advocate of gun control and made it a major issue of his administration in his second inaugural address. Bloomberg once said, “I don’t know why people carry guns. Guns kill people.”
Bloomberg is also a co-chair and founder of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, an organization of 210 mayors who claim to work only towards eradicating the use of illegal firearms by criminals.
Source: Wikipedia.org entry, “Michael_Bloomberg”
May 2, 2007
It’s not about gun control, it’s about crime control
Every day, nearly 30 people are murdered in the US. We ask ourselves, what can be done to stop this kind of gun violence? As mayor, I have asked myself that question many times. In NYC, we’ve cut murders by 40%. The fact is that most crimes are committed
with illegal weapons--and that is where the new gun debate is, or at least should be, centered. In New York, we aggressively go after these guns, but no city can stop the flow of illegal firearms alone. These are national problems that require national
leadership.Unfortunately, in recent years, combating gun crime hasn’t been a priority of this Justice Department or Congress. Most gun dealers follow the law and run honest businesses. But the statistics show that 1% of dealers sell more than half of
all illegal guns. Why isn’t the federal government going after them?
There’s common ground on this issue for anyone who is willing to look at it honestly, not ideologically. This isn’t about gun control. It’s about crime control.
Source: By Michael Bloomberg in Newsweek: “The Changing Gun Debate”
Apr 30, 2007
Sued New York City gun dealers to control guns
Bloomberg supports gun control, has raised taxes, backs same-sex marriage and signed a law banning the use of trans fats in fast-food restaurants.
The mayor once filed suit on behalf of the city against two dozen gun dealers.
Source: Michael D. Shear, Washington Post, p. A1
Mar 25, 2007
Page last updated: Feb 08, 2010