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Bloomberg to spend $50 mil on fight to tighten U.S. gun control laws

13 Comments

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced plans Wednesday to spend $50 million this year on the fight to tighten gun control laws and counter America's powerful gun lobby.

Bloomberg's money will help bankroll a new campaign to reduce gun violence across the United States and the billionaire philanthropist hopes the initiative can eventually outdo the might of the National Rifle Association (NRA).

The creation of "Everytown for Gun Safety" comes after Congress failed to pass a hotly contested gun control law last year, despite a series of mass shootings that shocked the nation.

The impasse came in the face of stiff opposition by the NRA and other gun groups, which mounted a successful counter-campaign and warned members that the U.S. government was determined to take guns away.

"This is the beginning of a major new campaign to reduce the gun violence that plagues communities across the country," said Bloomberg, who will chair Everytown for Gun Safety.

It is a coalition of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, co-founded by Bloomberg, and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, which was set up after a 20-year-old man shot dead 20 first-grade pupils and six staff in December 2012.

It calls itself the largest gun violence prevention organization in the United States, where Bloomberg says shootings kill 86 Americans every day.

The group will press for change in Washington and bring the fight for tighter gun laws to states, corporate boards, and state and federal elections, areas where the gun lobby is strong.

It announced that it will back candidates and legislation, and raise awareness about guns in schools, domestic violence, child access to guns, suicide and the other ways that gun violence affects Americans.

Bloomberg said he plans to spend at least $50 million this year through Everytown's educational and advocacy efforts and through personal expenditures.

Events were to take place nationwide Wednesday to launch a "Gun Sense Voter" campaign and the organization hopes to raise its 1.5 million supporters to 2.5 million this year.

"This new organization will bring more people into the fight against gun violence, which affects every town in America," said Bloomberg.

John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, said: "This isn't just an urban problem, or a mass shooting problem. It can, and it does, happen in every town.

"And it will take every mayor, every mom, and every one of us to persuade our policymakers that we have to do more to protect our kids and our communities."

© (c) 2014 AFP

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

13 Comments
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Nice.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

“I am telling you if there is a God, when I get to heaven I’m not stopping to be interviewed. I am heading straight in. I have earned my place in heaven. It’s not even close,” he told the New York Times. -Rather self righteous statement.

"Reproductive choice is a fundamental human right and we can never take it for granted. On this issue, you're either with us or against us." -Quite a divisive statement.

The man is a fool and the Big Apple Big Gulp survives.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Michael Bloomberg announced plans Wednesday to spend $50 million this year on the fight to tighten gun control laws

K, cool, thats about 1/10 of the budget for the NRAs janitors.

John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, said: “This isn’t just an urban problem, or a mass shooting problem. It can, and it does, happen in every town.

My hometown, 150 years of history, zero gun deaths. There was a stabbing death a few years back, however.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

bfg4987- Any bludgeoning deaths? vehicular homicides? arson deaths? poisoning deaths? I think you get my point.

btw, I like that statistic. To public a forum to ask what town that is.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

K, cool, thats about 1/10 of the budget for the NRAs janitors.

The NRA revenue is around $200 million dollars a year, half of that is from membership dues. This $50 million dollars is 25% of the NRA total revenue in a year. The man is worth around $33 billion dollars, that is enough to match the NRA revenue dollar for dollar for 165 years(This is excluding inflation of course), this man if he wanted to could literally launch a single person campaign against the NRA in terms of money. So don't get cocky.

The biggest problem that I have with groups like these is that a lot of their solutions are really more value bans than actual policies that would be effective, for example the "Assault Weapon Ban", according to Senator Diane Feinstein, who is the author of the bill, the annual average homicide total with these firearms is around 45 people nationwide and 55 people wounded nationwide. That is a casualty rate of 0.03 per 100,000 people, considering these firearms are the most popular and most commonly owned I consider that to be an acceptable cost to allow further sale and ownership of such firearms. Magazine capacity limits of 10 rounds are not really going to be effective either considering the average criminal use of a firearm is around 4 bullets so in order for it to be effective it would have to be 4 rounds or less, there are around 300 million to 600 million magazines currently in circulation that are above 10 rounds.

The most effective laws are background checks and limiting the sale of to one firearm per month. Straw buyers are the hardest to prevent and that is where the vast majority of the firearms come from that supply criminals.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

So don't get cocky.

Who's cocky? I'm just saying that for a multi-billionaire trying to go up against one of the most powerful lobby firms in America with a long history of victories for gun rights, $50 million seems like he's not trying too hard.

The biggest problem that I have with groups like these is that a lot of their solutions are really more value bans than actual policies that would be effective

This is also a large problem. These groups are rarely productive, being led by people making claims that gun violence "happen(s) in every town."

0 ( +1 / -1 )

$50 million down the toilet and to think, he could use the money for something much better.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Just me but I'd prefer he put that money towards campaigning for real national healthcare. Then the gun injuries would be easier to take care of. <,<

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Big lobby vs. big lobby

Makes things even and keep the balance.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Nanny Bloomers much more likely will find himself in a toasty-warm place along with his comrades Stalin, Hitler, Lenin, Mao, and Obama.

Bloomberg is a crooked, lying, self-serving sob.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

Bloomberg the megalomaniac still trying to force his leftard agenda on the people. I wonder why the IRS hasn't investigated his campaign donations...

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Bloomberg the megalomaniac still trying to force his leftard agenda on the people. I wonder why the IRS hasn't investigated his campaign donations...

That's he's still relevant is a shame, but methinks that this new mayor, de Blasio is going to be worse. Heaven help the great state of NYC.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

City of NYC will do fine. People there lean left anyways.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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