New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg sharply rebuked members of both major parties on Monday, saying that the country could make significant progress on gun control if only politicians would do what they had promised to do.
"We don't have to break new ground here," he said on Monday's Morning Joe. "All we've got to do is follow the promises that were made by the elected officials back when they were pandering and said, 'We're going to fix this problem.'"
The main thing that was required, he said, was enforcement the laws already on the books. "Plug the one or two loopholes in the laws they already passed and then fund the enforcement of it," he said. "We haven't had the head of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms because the President can't get anybody through Congress. We don't have any monies to go and enforce the laws. The states aren't putting data into the database."
Bloomberg dismissed the possibility that tougher gun control enforcement would be a political liability. "I think there is a perception among the political world that the NRA has more power than the American people. I don't believe that," he said.
In fact, he argued, following the NRA's wishes might be more politically damaging. "At the state and federal level, in the executive and legislative branches, they think that the NRA is going to control their destiny," he said. "And I think maybe in a perverse way, the NRA is going to control their destiny to their downfall.
Since the shooting in Aurora, Colorado on Friday, Bloomberg has been calling for action on gun control. Just hours after the shooting, he criticized both Obama and Romney for what he said was a failure to lead on the issue. On Face the Nation, he said that Obama "has spent the last three years trying to avoid the issue." "This really is an enormous problem for the country, and it's up to these two presidential candidates," he went on. "They want to lead this country, and they've said things before that they're in favor of banning things like assault weapons. Where are they now and why don't they stand up?
Bloomberg is the co-founder of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, an association of over 600 pro-gun control mayors.
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First! We have to be able to find some middle ground between anything goes and lawful gun ownership. Does anyone really "need" a 30 round clip? Does anyone really need to be able to own as many assault rifles as they can afford? I support the right to bear arms. I think we neglect the rest of the words in the 2nd amendment to our peril. Wouldn't a "well regulated militia" include knowing who has firearms to assist a homeland defense effort against an invading enemy?
bloomberg is a moron!
under him he wants 21oz sodas to be illegal, and all private citizen rights to be abolished completely.
i hope this guy gets diabetes and dies from too much sugar.
Bloomberg is the only major politician talking about the issue. I, for one, agree with him. But, I don't see anything changing.
We have as a society decided that an occasional mass shooting is OK, it's just collateral damage. We've decided that it's more important to preserve the freedom for anyone to be able to buy weapons, and ammunition, of war. I don't know how frequent mass shootings would have to be for us to decide it's NOT ok, but obviously we're not there yet.
Apparently, the city of Aurora is one of the places that has ultra-restrictive concealed-carry rules... that's why nobody in the theater was armed. So, see what gun control laws gets you?
And contrary to reports I've heard on TV, he was not wearing body "armor". He had on some so-called SWAT gear, but the supposedly bulletproof vest he purchased was nothing more than a rip-stop ballistic nylon vest with pockets big enough to hold extra ammo magazines (nearly always incorrectly called "clips" by people actually ignorant on the subject). If anyone in that theater had fired back at him with, say, a Glock .45ACP, or even a Glock .40S&W as most police departments use, they could have dropped him like a sandbag with 1 shot.
I'll bet Zimmerman didn't get his kevlar vests for $200 each, as the receipt for the terrorist's order showed. Oh, that's another thing... all media outlets should stop using the terrorist's name and picture. He wants infamy? Let him die by lethal injection in anonymity, ASAP.
Assault weapons are already banned. An assault weapon by definition is selective fire (i.e. switchable between semi-automatic and full-automatic), and selective fire weapons have been restricted since the National Firearms Act of 1934 was passed by the 73rd congress, 2nd session.
If Bloomberg wants to live somewhere citizens aren't allowed to own guns, I invite him to move to russia, mexico or china. Good luck getting your bodyguards' weapons into those countries with them, Mike.
The 2nd Amendment is there not only for self-defense but for defense against a tyrannical government. It is un-American to think otherwise. As an American you have 2 options if you don't believe in this. 1) Don't buy a firearm or 2) move out of this great country of ours. And this coming from a proud Gun owning Democrat.
Unfortunately, occasional violence is a side-effect of a free society. The only way to prevent all violence is to create a complete police state. No one can be allowed to move freely around in public without random searches. Airport type screening must be installed in all public buildings. Dangerous items must be completely restricted. No guns, no ammunition, no chemicals, no knives, no gas cans, no fireworks, no clubs, no poisons, no baseball bats, no excessivly powered vehicles. And while we are restricting things for the public good, we should also restrict anything that is unhealthy. No soda, no donuts, no sugar, no salt, no fast food. If politicians would have the guts to enact the types of restrictions that we need, without fear of reprisal from the ignorant masses that speak of fantastical notions like "freedom" and "liberty" we could finally have the perfect world that we all desire. Groups like the NRA need to stop listening to their "freedom" loving members and realize that we would all be better off just doing what Bloomberg wants. We need to take advantage of the high emotions right now, and get people to agree to permanently give up more of their rights so that we, as a nation, can feel good for awhile. And after each horrible event, we can ratchet down our freedoms a little more until we can finally reach the government controlled utopia that we humans so desperately need.
The anti-Second-Amendment vultures start circling almost before the bodies are cold. They should be ashamed of themselves! There is no evidence that gun control would stop a well-organized, determined loony from committing mass murder. Guns are not the problem. The largest mass murder in recent American history was committed with five gallons of gasoline and a match.
Out of a population of 300+ million, there are bound to be a few homicidal crazies. That's not a reason to start treating us like 300+ million homicidal crazies.
You never see Mayor Bloomberg without his contingent of well-armed bodyguards. What's sauce for the goose should be sauce for the non-billionaires. Most of us can't afford armed bodyguards, but we shouldn't be stripped of our means of self-defense.
For some reason, gun-owners always start to scream about loss of liberty whenever anyone attempts to legislate a safer environment for the country as a whole with a little bit of regulation. No one believes that regulation/restriction will prevent EVERY incident like the most recent slayings in Aurora, but even if it makes it a little bit harder for the next guy to carry out a plan like this, maybe fewer people will die. As for the crazy idea that people would be safer if we all carried guns to movie theaters, classrooms, political meet & greets so that we can protect ourselves from these types of maniacs - I shudder to think of how many more people's lives would be put at risk by the inexperienced vigilantes shooting at anything that moves. It is time to do something because doing nothing has not saved any lives. I say hurray for someone like Mayor Blumberg for stepping up and making his case.
scallie, how much is this "little bit" of regulation does Duke Bloomberg wants? I don't think he will stop until all guns are gone.
I believe he stressed "reasonable". Of course you think he wants to take all guns away - that is what the NRA tells you to think. Blumberg was not ranting or raving - he said REASONABLE REGULATIONS.
Again what is reasonable? Is "Stop and Frisk" or 16oz. Soda limit reasonable? What is reasonable to the Mayor may not be reasonable for the general population? I say if we put it up for a vote according to the latest polls, most American thinks that the current laws we have are already reasonable.
I a perfect utopia no one would have guns. However, humans have open the Pandora box a long time ago. We have the knowledge to make guns and killing devices. Even if you ban all guns, Evil people people will find a way of getting them. If you look, you can find articles of primitive locations in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Philippines where gunsmiths there build working copies of every type of firearms you can imagine. If a total gun ban exist here, evil people will find a way. Gun control, only really effect law abiding citizens.
Bloomberg is concerned about the guns and the killing of 12 people in Colorado but ignores the persistent harassment and "Stop and Frisk" over nearly 700,000 mostly people of color in his own city. I guess the scars of the families in Colorado are more important than the psychological scars and traumas of having our young people criminalized and treated like second class citizens. Joe and Mika are constantly hanging off Bloombergs and Christie's jock strap and Mika and her constant references to her dad "brensiki" make me want to vomit. Most of the commentators on Morning Joe reflect the elites in New York marginalized from the day to day realities of people of color. Morning Joe is a white show for and about white middle class folks.
Local controls don't stop people from moving around, and the Federal laws on assault weapons already expired and don't seem to be coming back. You can learn more about Federal gun control laws with this online guide: Is gun control going to be a major topic for this upcoming election? Let's all pray there isn't another major shooting soon.