Mayor Bloomberg has made no secret of his lust for stricter gun-control laws—recently in the wake of the Trayvon Martin shooting, he's come out strongly against the Florida "Stand Your Ground" law, in speeches, editorials and statements: "The NRA’s leaders weren’t interested in public safety. They were interested in promoting a culture where people take the law into their own hands with a gun and face no consequences for it.” Members of the NRA attending their annual conference weren't happy: “Outlawing gun ownership or preventing people from defending themselves isn’t going to solve any problems,” said Tom Seeba, an NRA member from Reno, Nev. “And I think Mayor Bloomberg is an arrogant bastard to try to implement such a strategy.” more ›

With $217,400 in donations since 2003, the National Rifle Association has shelled out more cash in the last decade to legislators in New York than in any other state, reports the Daily News. In what Democrats identify as a transparent agenda opposing Mayor Michael Bloomberg's push to microstamp bullet casings, the NRA pumped more than half of the money into the coffers of Republicans senators following a failed bill in 2010. more ›

Speaking to his BFF Mike Lupica about the shooting of four police officers in Brooklyn on Sunday, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly expressed frustration that illegal weapons like the ones used by the perpetrator in the incident continued to pour into the city. “These are the guns that are turning our city into a shooting gallery. We had three cops shot last year. This year we’ve had eight shot already, and it’s only Easter," Kelly said. "I’m tired of this!” more ›

Seemingly stating the obvious, the attorney representing the man who shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in February told Reuters that his client will turn himself in if he is charged in the shooting. "If he is asked, he will turn himself in," Craig Sonner said. "There's not going to be a manhunt or anything like that." But that's if Zimmerman is charged at all in spite of Florida's Stand Your Ground law, and the details of the case won't reach a grand jury until April 10. more ›

Here it is, Mayor Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Menino's ad about gun control reform that will run during the Super Bowl. They make lots of NYC and Boston jokes, as well as Giants and Patriots puns! more ›

After a Tennessee resident was arrested on felony gun possession charges after checking her 0.38-caliber gun in at the National 9/11 Memorial, NY State politicians are now wondering if our gun laws are maybe a little too much. Medical student Meredith Graves did have a permit to carry the gun in Tennessee, but she didn't have a permit to carry it in New York (because that's what all tourists need in New York—their own guns), so she was in jail for days, including Christmas. And her plight has touched even Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. more ›

The laws governing private gun sellers' online transactions are alarmingly lax. For one thing, there's no background check required—unless the seller has reason to believe the potential buyer might not pass a background check. But an investigation coordinated by Mayor Bloomberg found that in many cases, gun sellers will unload firearms to shady buyers anyway. Investigators called up 125 private online gun sellers located in 14 states, and found that 62 percent of them were willing to commit a felony by selling to an undercover investigator who freely admitted he could not pass a background check. And in most cases, they had a good laugh while doing so; check out the video: more ›

Mayor Bloomberg is donating $25,000 apiece to six Democratic Virginia State Senate candidates to ensure that the party maintains control of the Senate and opposes weakening Virginia's already-lax gun laws. Five of them are from Northern Virginia (or "NoVa," for those who have survived it) and the sixth is in the Hampton Roads area. Virginia Republicans are pushing to loosen gun regulations, including the one gun per month restriction currently on the books. Virginia is New York's number one source of illegal handguns. more ›

After conducting stings in Arizona that proved how easy it was to obtain firearms illegally, the mayor is again pressing the issue with a new ad campaign. Mayor Bloomberg's coalition, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, has released a new TV spot that features Al Qaeda's American-born operative Adam Gadahn extolling the virtues of America's gun show loophole, saying "America is absolutely awash with easily obtainable firearms…So what are you waiting for?" more ›

An 8-year-old boy took a loaded 9mm pistol to his school in Flushing yesterday and sold it to a third-grade classmate. The deal went down at P.S. 107, and sources tell the Post the gun had its serial numbers scratched off. Everything about the transaction went swimmingly until the buyer, age 9, went home and bragged about the amazing deal to his mother. He reportedly paid just $3 for it! What is going on with the NYC school system; don't they teach kids basic economics anymore? more ›

Our mayor may be against guns, and New York may have some very strict anti-gun laws, but apparently our fellow New Yorkers at least have some common sense when it comes to enforcing them. A jury today acquitted 29-year-old Floridian Jonathan Ryan in a criminal weapons possession case involving a 9mm pistol he had in his truck's glove compartment when he drove up to New York last February to help his girlfriend move. more ›

Sen. Chuck Schumer, a long-time advocate of "rational gun-control laws," is putting his legislative money where his mouth is when it comes to gun laws: he told reporters that he is drafting legislation to require all gun buyers to undergo a thorough background check. And he wants to increase penalties to any states that don't contribute names to the national background-check system. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg was among the critics who faulted President Obama from cutting a passage about gun control from his State of the Union Address. The Obama administration says there will be a separate speech about guns at a later date, and yesterday Bloomberg appeared on "The Last Word" to talk about the issue. Bloomberg says Obama missed an opportunity, adding, "Presidents don't have a problem fighting wars overseas, Congress doesn't have a problem funding wars overseas. But we have a war on the streets of our cities, big and small... There are 400,000 Americans who have been killed by guns... that is roughly the number of Americans killed in WWII." Bloomberg also had some words for his NRA critics. more ›

Earlier this month, Mayor Bloomberg blasted current gun laws that allowed Jared Lee Loughner, the man accused of attempting to assassinate Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, to buy a gun. Now, with his Mayors Against Illegal Guns group, he has started a new crusade to reform the background checks on gun purchases. According to the campaign, Bloomberg, other lawmakers, and victims of gun violence want Congress to do two things: "1) fulfill the letter of the historic 1968 gun law and ensure that all names of people prohibited from buying a gun are in the background check system; and 2) fulfill the intent of the historic 1968 gun law by subjecting every gun sale to a background check." more ›

It was Bowling for Columbine revisited on The Rachel Maddow Show last night. Maddow has been covering the increased debate on gun control in the wake of the Tuscon massacre, and her guest was activist filmmaker Michael Moore, who asked the same difficult question that perplexed him in his smash hit 2002 documentary (which won an Academy Award): Why are Americans so trigger happy? The interview began with that stunning segment from Moore's film wherein K-Mart reps meet with two Columbine High massacre victims, whose presence persuades the company to stop selling handgun ammunition. more ›

In the aftermath of last week's tragic shooting in Tucson, Arizona, which left six people dead and 14 others injured during an apparent assassination attempt on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, much of the ensuing discussion has revolved around gun laws. After Mayor Bloomberg and Peter King called for stricter gun laws this week, Senator Charles Schumer wondered this morning how accused shooter Jared Lee Loughner, who was rejected for military service because of drug use, was able to buy a gun: more ›

After the Tucson, AZ shooting rampage that left Rep. Gabrielle Giffords critically injured, six dead and 13 others injured, the Post suggested that not only the Glock corporation—which made the gun that suspected shooter Jared Lee Loughner used—stop selling to civilians, the newspaper said that NYPD should stop buying weapons from Glock until the company stops selling to civilians. Now, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio has voiced his support having the NYPD ban Glock, but Mayor Bloomberg is less enthusiastic. more ›

One of Mayor Bloomberg's major criticisms of the Tea Party movement is that they don't stand for any issues, unlike him. Bloomberg has made gun control one of the major cornerstones of his administration, which is why many people were confused when he decided to slash the cost of obtaining a gun permit, cutting the price from $340 to between $25 and $110. “We want to be in compliance with the law…so that we don’t want to lose the ability to have reasonable controls. If we have controls that the courts have ruled too onerous or too unfair, we could lose the whole thing,” Bloomberg explained, referring to the Supreme Court throwing out gun laws in Chicago and Washington. more ›

Last week, Mayor Bloomberg lost crucial support in his effort to get illegal guns off the streets by "microstamping" bullet casings with unique markings. Yesterday, he wrote an editorial for the Daily News in which he pleads his case directly to NYers, listing several victims of gun violence before coming to a rallying cry: "More than 80 police departments and law enforcement groups from around New York have endorsed the legislation, but unfortunately a first attempt to pass it in the Senate failed last week...I encourage all New Yorkers to call their state senators and ask them to support microstamping because we need all the help we can get to take illegal guns out of the hands of criminals." more ›

Here's some (possibly) good news for the NYPD: the number of recovered firearms dropped 8% last year, from 5,537 to 5,135, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Though that does leave open the possibility that the NYPD just isn't finding all of the guns, it's still a sign of improvement. Most of the guns happened to come from states Bloomberg has accused of being too lenient on background checks—Virginia, Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina and Florida. 395 of the guns came from within New York. more ›

After a week of widespread Democratic opposition against his proposed Senate campaign, former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford Jr. launched his own publicity tour, which got really interesting when he sat down with the Times for a lengthy interview yesterday. There are gems throughout the far-reaching Q and A, but it's likely that no part of it will be as closely scrutinized as his statements on gay marriage — which he twice voted to ban: more ›

Two men who allegedly operated a Florida-to-New York gun trafficking ring were indicted today after selling more than 40 guns to undercover cops, worth more than $40,000. The 105-count indictment charges Watson Joachin, 27, and Ryan Woodard, 22, with selling weapons including 28 semi-automatic pistols, six revolvers, three assault rifles, four sawed-off shotguns, and five rifles. Most of the guns were purchased at pawn shops and gun shows in Florida, then sold fully loaded in Brooklyn. "We'll accept oranges from the sunshine state but not guns," Commissioner Kelly told reporters today. more ›

A sixteen-year-old Queens boy has confessed to firing the the shots that killed thirteen-year-old Kevin Miller just after the end of the school day at nearby Campus Magnet High School. Nnonso Ekwegbalu of Laurelton was arrested on Saturday night and admitted to being the one to pull a gun and fire the two shots that left Miller dead and injured a 17-year-old employee of the car wash where the fight that sparked the gunshots was taking place. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly told reporters yesterday that there was an arrest and that Ekwegbalu has "made statements" in regards to the Cambria Heights shooting. Reports did not mention if they found the orange shirt that Ekwegbalu was allegedly wearing that initially led them to arrest and quickly release a Campus Magnet football player soon after the shooting. more ›

The man who once supported federal control of gun ownership is sticking to his most recent attitude toward firearms: let the locals decide. Former mayor Rudy Giuliani appeared on CNN's The Situation Room yesterday where he shared his views on the failed federal gun measure that would have legalized concealed weapons in 48 states, including New York. As Politico notes, when asked by Wolf Blitzer whether Rudy is happy the measure failed, Giuliani answered: "I think it's the best situation. I think we're left—by its not passing, we're left with cities and states within constitutional limits, making their own decisions. And I think that's better." Giuliani explained he believes local control of gun laws is necessary because of varying "conditions" around the country. Of course, that's not consistent with the position he had back in the early 1990s—when he helped President Clinton lobby Congress for a national ban on assault weapons and other gun control measures—but it is consistent with his plans to stay in the Republican limelight for a 2012 presidential run. more ›

Senators Schumer and Gillibrand were in town yesterday asking President Obama to eliminate the Tiahrt Amendment, which requires the FBI to destroy records of gun buyer's background checks within 24 hours. Gillibrand had co-sponsored the law while she was in Congress and said, "In my previous district, we didn't have gang violence, and we didn't have the gun violence that we have throughout New York." Schumer supported her change in stance because he said that by representing all of New York, "You meet more people, you grow." But potential primary opponent Carolyn McCarthy still sounds unconvinced, telling the News, "I thought it was strange that she signed on, given she was one of the people who wrote that law." One Democratic operative added, "She could hurt your neck, watching her move." more ›

A few people were wondering why Kirsten Gillibrand didn't make a stop with the mayor when she came through town last week on her statewide roll out tour as senator that ended in NYC. Well yesterday the two met in Washington and seemed to bury any hatchet that may have existed after Bloomberg breathed fire in Gillibrand's direction following the (former?) gun control advocate being named to the Senate by Governor Paterson. The pair was all smiles after their twenty-minute meeting with Gillibrand telling reporters, "There's a number of things that we're going to work on together, trying to keep illegal guns out of the hands of criminals by getting law enforcement all the tools they need to keep them off the street." Gillibrand sounds to be "evolving" rapidly—she even told the News that since her background is in fishing, she'd have to take shooting lessons from the mayor. more ›

Today's big Texas primary, the Post has delivered a cover with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama as old West gunslingers. And since Obama's hand in on his gun, it makes sense the headline for the story is, "Barack Goes For Hill Kill." (Obama believes in gun control, though he backed a law allowing retired cops to carry concealed weapons). more ›

Ending months of speculation, Mayor Michael Bloomberg confirmed he will not run for president in the 2008 election. And he did it with an op-ed in the NY Times, titled, "I'm Not Running for President, but..." more ›

To no one's surprise, Senator-turned- actor-turned- presidential- candidate-wannabe Fred Thompson has dropped out of the hunt for the Republican party nomination. Thompson had not done very well in any of the early caucuses or primaries and his exit may actually mean a bump for Mike Huckabee, who has a similar more-conservative-than-the-others platform. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg still claims he's not running for President, but he's spending thousands of dollars to run a full page ad in The Des Moines Register--Iowa's largest circulation local paper--with his face on it. One can see the full ad here. The Mayor also placed an identical ad in The New Hampshire Union Leader. We're running this ad to the Bat Cave, to see if there are any subliminal "Mike Bloomberg '08" messages! more ›