Agencies/New York
In his first major initiative since leaving office, former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg announced plans yesterday to launch a new gun control organisation that he hopes can rival the National Rifle Association.
The grassroots umbrella group, called Everytown, is “a movement of Americans working together to end gun violence and build safer communities”.
“For too long, change has been thwarted by the Washington gun lobby and by leaders who refuse to take common-sense steps that will save lives,” says the organisation’s mission statement.
“They say, ‘We don’t care. We’re going to go after you,’” Bloomberg told the New York Times of the NRA. “‘If you don’t vote with us we’re going to go after your kids and your grandkids and your great-grandkids. And we’re never going to stop.’ ... We’ve got to make them afraid of us.”
The NRA has yet to respond publicly.
The former New York City mayor and founder of Bloomberg LP is investing $50mn for the launch.
“He’s got the money to waste,” Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, told the paper. “So I guess he’s free to do so. But frankly, I think he’s going to find out why his side keeps losing.”
Bloomberg, though, insists he’s not trying to outspend the NRA.
“This is not a battle of dollars,” Bloomberg said on NBC’s Today show. “This is a battle for the hearts and minds of America so that we can protect our children, protect innocent people. If you take a look at the number of people who use illegal guns to commit suicide, a number of people that are killed every year, we’re the only civilised country in the world that has this problem. We have to do something.”
In the wake of deadly shootings in Tucson, Arizona, Aurora, Colorado, Newtown, Connecticut, Fort Hood, in Texas, and elsewhere, Bloomberg is hoping his new group can do what President Barack Obama has not: successfully lobby for stricter gun control laws.
“People will vote for whatever they think is in their own self-interest to get elected and re-elected,” Bloomberg said on NBC’s Today show. “We’ve got to convince them that 80% of gun owners, 90% of Americans who are favour of simple background checks to make sure criminals, minors and people with psychiatric problems can’t buy guns. Common sense. We’ve got to make them understand that that’s what the public wants.”
Bloomberg points to the election of Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe in the NRA’s home state as proof his gun control lobbying can work.
“This is a battle we’re going to win,” Bloomberg told Yahoo News’ Katie Couric last month. “This isn’t a partisan issue. I know people say, ‘Well, one party’s in favour, one party’s against.’ They are individual votes and I will support individual senators and congressmen who vote to make my kids safer and your kids safer.”
Bloomberg dismissed the idea that his gun control initiatives are paving the way for a presidential run.
“No is the answer,” he said on Today. “Plain and simple. I’m going to spend the rest of my life trying to make a better world for myself, for my kids, for my grandchildren.”
Michael Bloomberg
