A group of mayors favoring gun control legislation is sponsoring a Super Bowl advertisement on stations in the Washington D.C. area with an end game of pressuring lawmakers to enforce universal background checks on firearms sales.
Mayors Against Illegal Guns is paying a reported six-figure price tag for a 30-second spot to air during the third-quarter,
The Hill reports. The spot includes footage of National Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre calling for mandatory background checks.
In the 1999 clip, LaPierre says “we think it’s reasonable to provide mandatory instant criminal background checks for every sale at every gun show, no loopholes anywhere for anyone.”
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a prominent gun control advocate, founded the group. He said the ad would show how the NRA and gun lobby has changed its position, despite “support for this common-sense reform from more than 80 percent of gun owners and more than 90 percent of Americans.”
The ad is being broadcast as lawmakers work on gun control measures following the December mass school shootings in Newtown, Conn.
President Barack Obama has already signed several executive actions to strengthen already-existing laws, and is pressing lawmakers to pass bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, while instituting background checks.
But the NRA, Washington's most powerful lobbying group, opposes the measures, saying they infringe on the Second Amendment.
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