Bloomberg demands gun action from Obama and Romney
(CNN) – New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an outspoken advocate of stricter gun-control laws, said in a radio interview Friday the two candidates for president needed to take a firmer line in addressing gun violence.
Bloomberg's comments came as police and the FBI were investigating a deadly shooting in Colorado that left at least 12 people dead.
"Soothing words are nice, but maybe it's time that the two people who want to be president of the United States stand up and tell us what they are going to do about it, because this is obviously a problem across the country," Bloomberg said on WOR Radio's "The John Gambling Show."
Bloomberg continued, saying Friday's tragedy should spark greater focus on how guns reach killers.
"I mean, there are so many murders with guns every day, it's just got to stop," Bloomberg said. "And instead of the two people – President Obama and Governor Romney – talking in broad things about they want to make the world a better place, okay, tell us how."
"In the end, it is really the leadership at a national level, which is whoever is going to be president of the United States starting next January 1st – what are they going to do about guns?" Bloomberg asked.
Presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney met with Bloomberg in May, but an aide to the mayor said Bloomberg remained undecided about making an endorsement in the presidential race. Bloomberg won his last election as a political independent, but was previously a Democrat, then a Republican.
In his interview Friday, Bloomberg said guns getting into hands of criminals wasn't solely a problem in cities like New York.
"This is killing people every day, and it's growing and it's not just an inner-city, east coast, west coast, big city phenomenon. Aurora is not a big city," Bloomberg said, referring to the suburb of Denver where Friday's shooting took place.
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True Beliver (not)
But gun laws would REDUCE the number of crazy people who can get guns. Just cut that number by one, and we would be better off than we are now!! Idiots. Such black and white thinking... only by true conservatives. Its not all or nothing. Its in moderation. Cut access to guns some so a terrorist like this psychopath cannot just order them on the internet... or walk into the local gun show and walk out with a powerful weapon. Just make a tiny effort to reduce this ability and it would change the conversation for the better. But oh no; don't want to upset those NRA folks do we now. they are protecting our rights to kill each other... isn't that wonderful?
July 20, 2012 01:33 pm at 1:33 pm |
You know nothing about gun laws. You cannot LEGALLY buy a gun on the internet. It must be shipped to a licensed dealer where you must go through the background check. The type of weapon is also irrelevant. Have you asked yourself, "self, why do the cities and states that have the strictest gun laws also have the most gun crime?" You think and process things by emotion, as opposed to logic or fact. FACT – most gun violence in America is black-on-black, in the poorest of locales. You can't say that, however, or you are then a racist. Shootings like this don't happen in Texas very often, do they? How about among us deep-south hicks? If you are not sure if you will get shot, you are less prone to attack someone else. You must not be fooled into thinking that people who own guns are paranoid psycopaths, just waiting to kill someone. Gun owners have always been the buffer that has slowed the tide of crime and violence in this country. As for the Assault Weapons bill that expired, let's deal with some facts. If you use the FBI crime statistics, crime, including violent crime, went up during the ten years it was in place. After expiration, crime began to fall steadily. That's from the government.
Remember Prohibition? That worked well, didn't it? We have never had such crime. Imagine this society and its moral fabric, without the equalization of private gun ownership!
What an idiot wrote:
Funny Canada has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the world, yet there were 2 mass shooting sprees in Toronto this year .... How are those gun laws working ?? Bloomberg is an idiots idiot ....
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Your remark shows a lack of understanding, and is textbook denial. The Canadian laws are working fine, just as well as the US laws. The weapons in those incidents came from the US. Laws on both sides of the border are working as designed.
Does Bloomberg have more important things to do like track down and jail those 30 oz. soft drink criminals?
Romney: Obama mandated contraception so he might take your guns too
Romney says Obama will erode the rights of gun owners in speech to NRA
We need a president who will enforce current laws, not create new ones that only serve to burden lawful gun owners," Romney told thousands of NRA members in St. Louis for their annual convention. "President Obama has not. I will."
Running for the Senate in 1994, Romney said: "I don't line up with the NRA." A decade later he became a lifetime NRA member
Automatic weapons should be used to fight wars, oops i forgot, w are in a war. Apparently somewhere in America almost on a daily basis our police officers are in a war with animals that have NO regard for human life. Perhaps our politicians should declare war in america. The Bad Asses against law enforcement. Our country more than likely will be in some sort of civil war in anoher few years. Apparently the NRA believes everyone should have an AK47, why not a tank parked in everyones driveway. The city of Chicago should be living under marshal law today. Get the national guard in their so the police officers can rid the city of the gangs. At the very least it would be a start in the right direction
We need to focus on the those who involved in this horrible incident. We need to stop speculating and start thinking of others. We are not in any position to throw stones.
If Bloomberg actually used the gun control laws now in place NY would be safer. This is a cheap political speech and being given at the WRONG time
Go back to your war on super sized french fries and sodas and leave the important issues to people with brains
we need to ban all violent video games. crazy young people are creating their own violent virtual reality world that literally bleeds over into the real world.
I am not against guns. But I want some to give a solid reason on why someone should own an assult rifle?
Leave it to the RINO to make the connection to the 2nd Amendment.
@electrovibe11 For one, they're already out there. Existing guns would get redistributed. For another, other countries do make guns. Besides, we'd still need guns for police and military, and they can be stolen. Finally, black market gun manufacture. Do you really believe that if guns were banned, they would all suddenly cease to exist?
The shooter is a sick freak, however, Americans should be able purchase a Big Gulp at their local gun shop.
Mayor, how about telling your Judges to stop worring about punishing people for super sizing their Pepsi and fries and start handing down stricter sentencing for crimes involving a firearm and enforce the gun laws on the books now. More gun laws are not going to help as long as they are not enforced.
After reading all the liberal postings concerning the need for more gun control, I have come to the conclusion that being a liberal equals being a "victim" creator. Liberals don't seem to understand that outlawing guns won't keep the criminals from having them (forehead slapping moment!!). But the criminals will know that their victims won't be armed and be able to fight back.
All gun control does is put the good guns in the hands of criminals and leave regular people helpless against the maniacs.
Why do people feel "safer" because they have a gun ? Is there pride in having a weapon that can take life – all for "the right to bare arms" – What if all the permit to carry concealed weapon holders would have started shooting too – how many more would be dead?
i hope the mayor does not really believe this fool bought those guns, etc. legally!
It is not the guns that kill people. Its the people holding the guns that kill people,weather its a 38 pistol or an ak 47 automatic machine gun. What I think need to be is much harsher punishment when you are caught with a gun illegally or you commit a crime with a gun. Just a thought.
wow....didn't take long for Bloomberg to be on favorite rant. The issue here is the USA has a big hole in it's soul and no amount of legislation will heal. We have become immune and glorify killing on TV or the Cinema and human life has just has no value. I see on the playgrounds where kids now try and beat another kids head into the cement vs what would have3 been a fist fight a few short years ago
The right to bear arms is strategic.
Therefore, I want to personally own strategic arms.
Never know when I will need a tactical nuke to protect me from a crazy neighbor, or an ICBM to prevent a terrorist attack.
We should stop making excuses for the antisocial behavior of people who hurt or kill others. They should have their right to be in society taken away for life. they should, upon conviction, be housed separate from the rest of us forever. If they have taken a life theirs should be taken in return. One appeal no more and it is over. We need to hold people accountable for their action. Gangs our police should have orders to shoot to kill. They have no regard for others and should be treated the same way. We are way to soft on crime. No more bleeding hearts just responcible for your actions.
Bloomburg will forever bee remembered as the headline mayor. He cannot process an independent thought, so he gets his "causes" from the headlines of the day. Why not ban the sell of kithen knives? made up statistics show they are responsible for most maiming related accidents in the kitchen, even though, just like guns, they are tools that implement the wishes of the user.
everyone wants to blame something but never themselves, or the incredibly violent society in which they live.
Liberal gun laws are another waste of time perpetuated by the left. Why don'they ever come up with constraints based on social morals, adequate vetting of gun owners and laws that will make CRIMINALS think twice about using a weapon???? Guess the criminals are not the easy fix the left craves
In New York City (five boroughs) which has perhaps the strictest gun laws in the nation, there were 684 firearms homicides per 100,000 population in the period 2006-2007, the latest numbers I could find. In the city of Washington, DC, also with extremely strict regulation, there were 249.
In Atlanta, Georgia, where a non-criminal can get a permit to carry a concealed weapon, there were 168. Austin, Texas, in the wild, wild west, had 27. (All numbers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.)
Gun's do not kill people – Gun's kill peaple – I HE DIDN'T HAVE GUN, THAT PEOPLE COULDN'T KILL OTHER PEOPLE ! ! !