Mayor Bloomberg. (Photo: Getty)

Although gun control advocates--including the New York Daily News editorial board--have sharply criticized the U.S. Senate for moving forward with gun legislation that mostly just focuses on expanding background checks, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is just fine with it.

"I think this is not perfect but it takes you 90 percent of the way--maybe 95 percent of the way--towards more rational gun laws," Mr. Bloomberg said during his weekly WOR radio show this morning. "And the public is overwhelmingly in favor of background checks. A couple of the editorial boards thinks it's not enough, but the public does and I do."

Mr. Bloomberg, who has become a national spokesman of sorts in the wake of last year's infamous shooting spree at a Connecticut elementary school, went on to agree with advocates that a federal assault weapons ban would ideal, but said it's simply not a political reality.

"It would be great if we could get rid of assault weapons, but that's just not going to happen at the moment," he continued. "So let's do this. And I don't know if you want to have a victory lap, but those senators and House members--when we get to that, if we get to that--that voted for this should have a big smile on their face. They did something to save your life and your kids' lives and make this country a lot better."

Or, as Mr. Bloomberg argued while discussing another missing aspect--microstamping ammunition with identifying characteristics--in New York State's recently-passed gun law, "If you wait for the perfect thing, you'll never do anything."

(Photo: Getty)

Governor Andrew Cuomo said he's unfazed by pro-gun groups like the National Rifle Association and their lawsuits against New York's new gun control legislation. Indeed, Mr. Cuomo took his argument a step further this morning and labeled the legal efforts "propaganda" and part of a plot to "misinform and scare people."

"The extremists ... spread fear and unrealistic theories of conspiracies of a citizenry that needs to be armed because the government is possibly tyrannical," Mr. Cuomo said on The Capitol Pressroom. “You need a system and government regulations to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill. ... That's what we put in place in New York with the New York SAFE Act. It doesn't interfere with anybody's Second Amendment right; ... that's not what the New York SAFE Act is about. That's why they need the fear and they have to misinform and scare people because, on the facts, it makes total sense."

Mr. Cuomo, the state's former attorney general, went on to defend the law's constitutionality by pointing to other assault weapons bans. He also dismissed the slippery-slope argument against gun regulations, telling those who believe the government will seize guns to "get real."

"This is about their organizations and their membership and their propaganda," he said. "This nation passed an assault weapons ban before. This state, under George Pataki--a Republican--passed an assault weapons ban before. We banned the new sales of assault weapons; people with assault rifles have to register it. And, by the way, people have been registering handguns for many, many years. ... This whole theory of, 'Well, government will have a list and then they'll come to our house and take our guns because government doesn't want us to have guns because it's how citizens defend themselves.' There's been a handgun registry. ... Has it ever happened? They have to get real!"

Joe Biden at City Hall. (photo: nyc.gov)

As the U.S. Congress debates gun control legislation, two of the countries' leading advocates on the issue--Vice President Joe Biden and Mayor Michael Bloomberg--held a City Hall press conference today to pressure federal lawmakers to have enough "courage" to vote in favor of the bill when it hits the floor. Standing behind victims' family members from last year's massacre at a Newtown, Connecticut elementary school, Mr. Biden and Mr. Bloomberg argued the measures being proposed are neither controversial or unconstitutional.

"There's not one single thing being proposed--not one, not one , not one, not one--that infringes on anyone's Second Amendment constitutional right. Not one," Mr. Biden said. "Three months ago, a deranged man walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School with a weapon of war. That's what he walked in with--a weapon of war. That weapon of war has no place on American streets and taking it off American streets has no impact on one's constitutional right to own a weapon."

"There’s no doubt that requiring background checks for all gun sales saves lives and there’s no doubt that the American people support it," Mr. Bloomberg said. " The only question is whether Congress will have the courage to do the same thing or if they will allow more innocent people, including innocent children, to be gunned down. It has been 97 days since Newtown, in that time, we estimate that more than 3,000 Americans have been murdered with guns. Almost none of the victims generated national headlines, but each murder was a tragedy for the victim’s family and for the community. If Congress does nothing, another 12,000 people will be murdered with guns this year alone. We just cannot allow that to happen.”

The pair also praised each other's advocacy on the gun control issue.

"There's been no better person to be leading this effort in Washington than Vice President Biden," Mr. Bloomberg said, labeling Mr. Biden "a stand-up guy."

For his part, Mr. Biden extolled Mr. Bloomberg's organized lobbying efforts, declaring, "There has been no support that has been more consequential than the support coming from Mayor Bloomberg. It has been immense. It is organized, it is committed and it is consequential."

(Photo: Wikimedia)

Yesterday afternoon, the course of the New York State Senate was altered when a faction of the on-paper Democratic majority announced they would instead form a power-sharing agreement with the Republicans, equally splitting control of the chamber in an "unprecedented" fashion. Although labor has been wary of the situation thus far, seemingly preferring Democratic rule, Transport Workers Union Local 100 called the new coalition-style government "the best possible option" for the state.

“In the aftermath of Super Storm Sandy, and the devastation suffered by the working families of New York, we must get down to the business of governing," said the union's president, John Samuelsen, in a statement late last night. "The Independent Democratic Conference— led by serious, effective senators such as Jeff Klein, Diane Savino, and Malcolm Smith — has shown great commitment in fighting for public union employees and their families. It is obvious that at this point their decision to create a bipartisan coalition was the best possible option to ensure a functioning government for all New Yorkers and NYC Transit Workers and our families.”

For what it's worth, TWU Local  100's endorsements sometimes cut against the political grain, and the union, which has been without a contract since January, likely has a particularly vested interest in the state government in the coming months.

In contrast, several other unions have responded more coolly. RWDSU, for example, ominously warned the smaller Democratic conference to deliver on the minimum wage legislation they support.

“We are pleased that Senator Klein has made passage of a minimum wage increase in New York a priority," RWDSU president Stuart Appelbaum said in a press release yesterday. “The bill that he introduced last year, to increase New York’s minimum wage to $8.50 an hour and then index it to inflation, should not be weakened by his new coalition partners. We would expect that this will be the same bill he will pass for with his new Republican colleagues."

While the labor-backed Working Families Party sounded aggressive on the topic, with their executive director, Dan Cantor, declaring the new coalition "puts the progressive agenda in jeopardy" and suggested a potential electoral face-off could occur next time these senators face the voters.

"On Election Day, New Yorkers made their voices heard for a Democratic-Working Families majority because of the issues that hang in the balance in Albany," Mr. Cantor  said. Public financing of elections. Women's health. Reforming stop and frisk. Raising the minimum wage and indexing it to inflation. A real DREAM Act. These are not trivial issues. Senator Klein has voiced support for them in the past, but his Republican partners stand against us on each one. The burden therefore rests on the shoulders of Senator Klein and the IDC to prove that they can deliver. If they can, then this coalition may yet be validated. But if they cannot, then we will hold them to account."

Democrats managed to hold onto, or win, a large number of seats in the New York City area. (Photo: WNYC.org)

Although most of the attention last night was rightfully placed on the presidential race, a number of important state legislative campaigns were also waged, which, depending on how they turn out, could potentially have a significant impact on the legislation and policies that emerge out of Albany in the coming years. Notably, control of the New York State Senate hangs in the balance, and if Democrats win there, the party would control the trifecta of the state government as they already have an overwhelmingly majority in the State Assembly and a similarly aligned governor.

With one temporary exception, the senate has been continuously controlled by the GOP in recent years. Despite a large fundraising edge and an aggressive gerrymander which appeared to have locked in a Republican majority for the immediate future, a number of surprisingly strong Democratic victories pushed back against the conventional wisdom that they had no chance at reversing their fortunes this year,

Notably, the Republicans had specifically targeted two Democrats for elimination, Queens' Joe Addabbo and Westchester's Suzi Oppenheimer, by refashioning their district boundaries to include far more Republican turf than in 2010. However, Mr. Addabbo fended off a challenge GOP Councilman Eric Ulrich, and, thanks to Ms. Oppenheimer's retirement and the strong candidacy of Democratic Assemblyman George Latimer, Democrats managed to protect both seats.

Elsewhere in the state, Democrat Ted O'Brien successfully claimed a Rochester seat previously held by Republican Jim Alesi. Mr. Alesi, facing a likely primary challenge after voting in favor of gay marriage in 2011, opted to not run for reelection. Another pro-gay marriage Republican senator, Poughkeepsie's Steve Saland, survived a primary challenge only to have his opponent run against him on the Conservative line in the general election, allowing Democrat Terry Gipson squeak by in a 43%-to-42% plurality surprise win. This was despite Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo providing a cross-party endorsement to Mr. Saland.

(With Republican Roy McDonald losing a primary challenge of his own, only one of the four Republican votes for same sex marriage will be in the State Senate next year, Buffalo's Mark Grisanti.)

And in the closest race of all, Democrat Cecilia Tkaczyk has a razor-thin 140-vote margin over Republican Assemblyman George Amedore, whom a new State Senate seat was drawn for in the Albany suburbs.

Additionally, Simcha Felder, who ran on the Democratic and Conservative Party lines against GOP incumbent David Storobin, pulled off a win in a heavily Orthodox Jewish seat in Brooklyn. Mr. Felder had sent signals he would prefer to caucus with a Republican majority, but with stronger-than-expected Democratic performances elsewhere, it's possible the Democrats will be able to cut a deal to keep him on their side.

The Democratic conference is particularly prone to infighting, however, and there is an outstanding issue that must be resolved even if Ms. Tkaczyk holds onto her win and Mr. Felder comes around: the four Democratic senators who broke away from the party and stopped caucusing with them last year. Protesting the leadership of Minority Leader John Sampson, the quartet formed a breakaway, Republican-friendly "Independent Democratic Conference" in 2011. If they cannot be brought back into the fold, Republicans would still be able to cling to a 30-29-4 majority.

Democrats nevertheless declared victory last night, sending out a message to their supporters entitled, "Dems take back the Senate!"

"New Yorkers elected a Democratic majority in the State Senate," Parkside Group's Evan Stavisky, whose firm served as the principle consultants for the Senate Democrats, told Politicker this morning. “In a crowded election year with competitive races across the state, and up and down the ballot, the challenge is to maximize your resources and make every dollar count."

For their part, a spokesman for the Senate Republicans told The New York Times, “We are confident that once all the votes are in, we will retain our majority.”