New York Mayor and gun control advocate Michael Bloomberg said that he will fund ad campaigns in 2014 against senators who oppose an assault weapons ban and stronger background checks on firearms purchases.
“I think my money would be well spent,” he said on “Meet The Press.”
NRA president Wayne LaPierre, who appeared on the NBC show after Bloomberg, wasn’t impressed.
“He can’t spend enough of his $27 billion to impose his will on the American public,” he said.
“He can’t buy America,” he added, without a trace of irony.
“Meet The Press” host David Gregory challenged LaPierre on who is actually peddling toxic influence, citing a recent Quinnipiac poll that claimed 91 percent of Americans and 88 percent of gun owners support universal background checks.
“Are you thwarting the will of the American people?” Gregory asked.
LaPierre responded that the poll was based on a “dishonest premise.”
“There’s not a bill on the Hill that provides universal checks,” he said.
LaPierre also denounced universal background checks, bemoaning the fact that they would force private “hunters” and “farmers” who sell guns to each other to submit to federally regulated scrutiny.
He claimed that the NRA is working with Congress to “fix the current mess of a [background check] system” and wants to strengthen the enforcement of existing gun laws.
