New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg appreciated President Obama’s heartfelt speech for the victims of the Newtown school shooting while also demanding stronger action be taken.
Bloomberg, through his gun control advocacy group Mayors Against Illegal Guns, released the following statement in regards to Obama’s speech:
“President Obama rightly sent his heartfelt condolences to the families in Newtown. But the country needs him to send a bill to Congress to fix this problem … Calling for ‘meaningful action’ is not enough. We need immediate action. We have heard all the rhetoric before. What we have not seen is leadership—not from the White House and not from Congress.”
Mayor Bloomberg was critical of both President Obama and Mitt Romney during the 2012 Presidential election but ultimately supported President Obama because of his efforts to curb climate change.
While Michael Bloomberg has called for more gun control following the Newtown schools shooting, many critics have questioned whether the gun control debate should be widely heralded immediately following a tragic event such as the incident in Connecticut.
Michael Bloomberg also used his official NYC Mayor’s Office twitter account to spread his message for more gun control. Bloomberg wrote on the official city account:
Tell @ barackobama that you #DemandAPlan to end gun violence in America DemandAPlan.org
— NYC Mayor’s Office (@NYCMayorsOffice) December 14, 2012
Here is Michael Bloomberg’s full statement in which he demand tighter gun controls in the United States:
“With all the carnage from gun violence in our country, it’s still almost impossible to believe that a mass shooting in a kindergarten class could happen. It has come to that. Not even kindergarteners learning their ABC’s are safe. We heard after Columbine that it was too soon to talk about gun laws. We heard it after Virginia Tech. After Tucson and Aurora and Oak Creek. And now we are hearing it again. For every day we wait, 34 more people are murdered with guns. Today, many of them were five-year olds. President Obama rightly sent his heartfelt condolences to the families in Newtown. But the country needs him to send a bill to Congress to fix this problem. Calling for ‘meaningful action’ is not enough. We need immediate action. We have heard all the rhetoric before. What we have not seen is leadership – not from the White House and not from Congress. That must end today. This is a national tragedy and it demands a national response. My deepest sympathies are with the families of all those affected, and my determination to stop this madness is stronger than ever.”
Before his call for more gun control, the NYC Mayor tweeted:
.@ mikebloomberg : My deepest sympathies are with families of those affected, and my determination to stop this madness is stronger than ever.
— NYC Mayor’s Office (@NYCMayorsOffice) December 14, 2012
You may recall that Mayor Bloomberg kept the National Guard out of post-Sandy Hurricane cleanup efforts because they carry guns .
Bloomberg also appeared in an interview this year in which he said police officers shouldn’t protect US citizens until strict gun controls are enforced:
Is Mayor Bloomberg right? Is this the exact right time to demand more gun control?