FOXNews.com: Bloomberg Touts Anti-Gun Ad Blitz

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Bloomberg Touts Anti-Gun Ad Blitz Mar 24th 2013, 10:28 Jan. 14, 2013: In this file photo, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks at a gun violence summit at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.AP NEW YORK –  New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg plans to spend $12 million on a television ad campaign meant to pressure senators into backing gun control efforts, including comprehensive background checks. The national campaign from Mayors Against Illegal Guns will target states whose senators are on the fence, according to the New York Post. Bloomberg announced the ad buy Saturday — just days after Senate Democrats touted stronger background checks while acknowledging insufficient support to restore a ban on assault-style weapons to federal gun control legislation. "These ads bring the voices of Americans — who overwhelmingly support comprehensive and enforceable background checks — into the discussion to move senators to immediately take action to prevent gun violence," Bloomberg said in a statement issued by the group he co-founded in 2006. The two ads posted on the group's website, called "Responsible" and "Family," show a gun owner holding a rifle while sitting on the back of a pickup truck. In one ad, the man says he'll defend the Second Amendment but adds "with rights come responsibilities." The ad then urges viewers to tell Congress to support background checks. In the other ad, the man, a hunter, is shown with the rifle and children playing in the background. "I believe in the Second Amendment, and I'll fight to protect it. But with rights come responsibilities," he says. "That's why I support comprehensive background checks." The Senate is scheduled to debate federal gun control legislation next month. On March 28, the group plans for more than 100 events nationwide in support of passing gun control legislation that includes background checks. Mayors Against Illegal Guns and other gun-control advocates frequently cite a mid-1990s study that suggests about 40 percent of U.S. gun transfers were conducted by private sellers not subject to federal background checks. Based on 2011 FBI data, the group estimates 6.6 million firearms transfers are made without a background check for the receiver. A spokesman for Bloomberg could not immediately say if the $12 million was coming from Bloomberg or the mayor's political action committee, Independence USA. The New York Times, which first reported the ad campaign Saturday night, said Bloomberg was bankrolling the ad buy. A spokesman for the National Rifle Association blasted Bloomberg and the new ads, saying NRA members and supporters would be calling senators directly and urging them to vote against proposed gun control legislation. "What Michael Bloomberg is trying to do is ... intimidate senators into not listening to constituents and instead pledge their allegiance to him and his money," said spokesman Andrew Arulanandam. Bloomberg has long supported efforts to curb gun violence, including sending New York City undercover investigators into other states to conduct straw purchases from dealers. Last month, Bloomberg's PAC poured more than $2 million into ads supporting Illinois state Rep. Robin Kelly, who won a special primary and ran partly on a platform of supporting tougher gun restrictions. The new ads will air in 13 states the group believes are divided on gun control: Arkansas, Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The ad campaign begins on Monday, sources told the New York Post. The Senate is scheduled to debate federal gun control legislation next month after returning from the Easter Recess, which lasts from March 25 through April 5. On March 28, the group plans for more than 100 events nationwide in support of passing gun control legislation that includes background checks. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Click here for more from the New York Post.

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