7/25/2012
By Ivan Pereira
The mayor has joined the victims of last year’s mass shooting in Tuscon, Ariz., to call on the presidential candidates to do something about gun control.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and a coalition of 700 leaders of other cities set up an online petition that urges President Barack Obama and GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney to end gun violence.
Although Bloomberg’s recent criticism stems from last week’s Aurora, Colo. shooting, he said the Tuscon victims, 11 of whom have endorsed the campaign, are also upset with the nation’s leaders.
“The Tucson survivors and families have been waiting 18 months for something to change, and they deserve to know — as do all Americans — how the men running for president plan to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and dangerous people,” the mayor said in a statement.
A gunman opened fire at a Tucson parking lot on Jan. 8, 2011 when Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was holding a public event with constituents. Jared Lee Loughner is facing trial for seriously wounding 19 people, including Giffords, and killing six, including a 9-year-old girl.
In addition to the campaign’s website, Mayors Against Illegal Guns has been running advertisements warning people about the dangers of lax gun control.
