Bloomberg's Gun-Control Effort Takes Major Hit in Colorado

The anti-gun crusade of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg took a double-hit Tuesday, when two Colorado legislators he was backing were voted out of office due to their part in the passage of gun control measures, Politico reports.

 

Bloomberg shelled out $350,000 to support Democratic state senators Angela Giron and John Morse, who both went down to defeat in the state’s recall election.

 

The vote has been widely considered a referendum on gun-control efforts, according to Politico.

 

Bloomberg said in a statement Wednesday that Tuesday's result does not represent the views of the majority of Americans or Coloradans and argued that earlier attempts to recall more senators failed.

"This election does not reflect the will of Coloradans, a majority of whom strongly support background checks and opposed these recalls," Bloomberg said. "For the last 20 years, the NRA has had the field to themselves in contests like these, but no more.

 

"We're committed to backing elected officials across the country who are willing to face these attacks because they agree with Americans about the need for better background checks," he said.

 

After successfully defeating a pro-NRA congressional candidate in a special House election in Illinois earlier this year, Bloomberg's group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, hasn't exactly racked up many more victories.

 

Its support of the Senate's background checks vote, which totaled millions of dollars, came up empty and their promise to make senators who voted against the measure pay a political price, seems to be backfiring a bit.

 

One particular Bloomberg target, Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor, who's running in Arkansas, trumpeted the outgoing New York mayor's displeasure with him.

 

"I'm Mark Pryor, and I approve this message because no one from New York or Washington tells me what to do," he said, jabbing at Bloomberg in his first 2014 ad.

 

According to Mark Glaze, director of MAIG, the defeat of two Colorado legislators is a small price to pay for the new gun laws now on the state's books.

 

"If people want to read meaning in the Colorado recalls into their own state, they should recognize that one of the most pro-gun states in the union passed common-sense laws that have kept more than 24 felons, domestic violence offenders, and others prohibited from gun purchases from getting their hands on guns," Glaze said. "And when they were attacked, people from all over the country raised millions to support them."

 

NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam saw the results in a different light.

 

"If there’s a larger message anyone can take away from Colorado, it's that the grassroots is tired of Bloomberg's heavy-handed tactics,” Arulanandam said. "They're tired of him trying to buy elections, intimidate legislators into doing his bidding, and they’re just not going to stand for it anymore."