Mayor Bloomberg (Photo: Getty)

Over the weekend Mayor Michael Bloomberg unveiled a $12 million ad campaign dedicated to pushing senators to back legislation that would expand background checks against gun buyers. This ad blitz was the latest salvo in the expensive attack on illegal guns the billionaire mayor has focused on in recent months and it prompted National Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre to accuse him of trying to "buy America." At a press conference this afternoon where he was announcing a new program to help connect low-income city residents with job opportunities, many of the questions Mayor Bloomberg fielded from reporters were about his war of words with the NRA. Mayor Bloomberg first addressed the response he's received after announcing the ad campaign and said an "enormous number" of people have thanked him for the commercials.

"Nobody's going to walk up to me and say bad things, so I'm not so sure that I can actually represent, but I've just had lots and lots of phone calls, text messages, emails, people in the street ... that are just so thankful that somebody's willing to stand up and to counter the NRA," he said.

Mayor Bloomberg went on to question the logic behind the NRA criticizing the amount of money he's spent advocating for gun control.

"The NRA has spent $100 million and they object to my ten million ... or whatever the number is," said Mayor Bloomberg. "They've had it their own way they keep trying to say what's going on from their point of view."

He went on to say the NRA believed "there is no other point of view." Bringing up the approximately $2.5 million he recently spent to back a pro-gun control House candidate in Illinois, Mayor Bloomberg said he was merely trying to present an alternative perspective. The mayor's candidate, Robin Kelly, was victorious in a race his aides said they had been able to turn into a "referendum on guns."

"In Illinois, I spent a couple million bucks and gave another point of view on terms of how people had voted, and the pub listened and then the public decided," explained Mayor Bloomberg. "Nobody's buying votes. What you are doing is, you're getting access with this money to tell the public the facts. For example, Joe Smith voted for, or Joe Smith voted against this bill and this bill does x, y, z or doesn't do a, b, c. And then, let the public decide."

When he responded to the ad campaign, Mr. LaPierre cited the mayor's previous anti-obesity initiatives and described the gun control efforts as part of a pattern of Mayor Bloomberg trying to use money to "impose his will on the American public." Another reporter at this afternoon's press conference asked Mayor Bloomberg why he thought Mr. LaPierre was focusing on him personally rather than the content of his commercials.

"He doesn't have an argument," Mayor Bloomberg said of Mr. LaPierre. "Standing there and saying, 'Oh, I think we should leave guns in the hands of people that kill everybody and put our kids in danger,' is probably not a good strategy for him. So, he's got to find spomething else to talk about."

Politicker then asked Mayor Bloomberg what he thought about the fact NRA robocalls against gun control legislation have been received by residents of Newtown, Connecticut, which was the site of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December. At this point, Mayor Bloomberg was in no mood to discuss the gun battle any further.

"Enough with the NRA," he said, attempting to move to another question.

However, we pressed the point and Mayor Bloomberg said the NRA "ought to be ashamed" for making their robocalls in Newtown.

"You know, sometimes people just dont express--don't use good judgement. I guess the word shameless sort of comes up," said Mayor Bloomberg. "Of all the places you shouldn't be doing robocalls, I would think most people would say that's not a good place to do it. They ought to be ashamed."

(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!"

(Photo: Getty)

When Governor Andrew Cuomo quickly passed tough new gun control measures in January, he faced a raft of criticism for skipping the standard deliberative period and allegedly ignoring the more minute legislative details. The criticism recently found new substance with the bill's apparently unworkable 7-bullet magazine requirement, which Albany is now working to reverse. And, on his weekly radio show with John Gambling, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that "one criticism" may indeed have merit.

"This is true of a lot of things," Mr. Bloomberg said after accusing an unrelated City Council bill of having unintended side-effects. "You asked before about the magazines in Albany. We just got to start to thinking a little bit more about the implications of things before we rush to legislate and rush to legislate everything."

Mr. Bloomberg said allowing additional time to read legislation could have helped avoid this sort of sticky situation, but maintained his "100 percent" support for Mr. Cuomo's efforts on the gun issue overall.

"I'm 100 percent supportive of him. There is the argument--and it's a legitimate one--that if they had taken a few more days to read and let some people who might have other information .... give some input, they could have fixed some of this stuff," he explained. "They would say, 'Look, pass the bill. You can come back and fix it. It may look embarrassing in the paper, but so what?' And there's something to be said for that. I guess I might have tried to take a few more days, but I certainly shouldn't second-guess the governor."

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: Getty)

Governor Andrew Cuomo says his popularity probably took a shot after he pushed through a controversial gun policy package earlier this month.

The prognostication in question came during a Tuesday morning radio interview with New York Post columnist Fred Dicker. Mr. Dicker, who's sparred with Mr. Cuomo in the past on the issue, predicted Mr. Cuomo's typically sky-high numbers would take a tumble in the next statewide survey and Mr. Cuomo simply agreed.

"We know what the polls say on this because we've done it. We haven't done it after the fact, but they were clear enough before the fact," Mr. Cuomo replied. "I think your prediction is right."

Mr. Cuomo argued the damage wouldn't be due to the unpopularity of the NY SAFE Act, but rather because the gun law's passionate detractors would be more likely to express their frustration on the single issue alone.

"The issue is about a 70-30 issue. 70 percent of the people of the state saying they wanted gun control, etcetera," he explained. "Within the 30, there's a group that feels very strongly about it. You've been making their case quite eloquently for a number of days. They tend to be [from] Upstate. They tend to be conservative. ... I know their opposition. I know they're going to be displeased. I would expect that you're going to see that in the poll. And that will be that. They will be unhappy."

Mr. Cuomo also claimed that some of the opposition to the new gun policies--which include tougher restrictions on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines--was due to "anxiety" that will eventually go away.

"There's also I would say a fair level of confusion if not anxiety," he said. "'How does the law affect me? I'm a gun owner, what does it mean?' And the law is technical and I think they have questions and I think that's fueling the opposition now because it's fueling the anxiety. I think when they actually find out about the law, it's not going to be as bad as they think."

Nevertheless, the governor emphasized that it wasn't his job to avoid popular blowback

"That's the nature of the business. I understand that, I expected it. I've gone through it before. We went through it with marriage equality. There are people who feel very strongly about an issue, and, especially in the immediate aftermath, they let you know about it!" he exclaimed. "We are not here as elected officials, to do the easy ones."

Joe Biden illustrating the efficacy of shotguns. (Photo: YouTube)

Vice President Joe Biden participated in a Google+ "hangout" this afternoon to discuss President Barack Obama's gun control plan. Mr. Biden stressed his belief the plan, which includes an assault weapons ban, would help prevent law enforcement personnel from being "outgunned." He also addressed concerns the ban would infringe on peoples' ability to protect themselves by suggesting a shotgun is far more useful than any assault weapon for self-defense in the event of a situation such as a major natural disaster.

"You know, guess what? A shotgun will keep you a lot safer, a double-barrelled shotgun, than the assault weapon in somebody's hands who doesn't know how to use it, even one who does know how to use it," Mr. Biden explained while using his hands to mimic the gesture of holding a shotgun for added effect. "You know, it's harder to use an assault weapon to hit something than it is a shotgun OK? So, you want to keep people away in an earthquake, buy some shotgun shells."

Earlier in the conversation Mr. Biden also said he owns two shotguns and one of his sons owns one as well.

Mr. Biden also addressed the question of whether he would back an idea to confiscate assault weapons that are currently in circulation. While Mr. Biden said law enforcement personnel who "overwhelmingly" support the president's gun control plan "would love" to see current stocks of assault weapons taken off the streets, he said it would not be possible.

"Realistically, that's not going to happen," he said.

Watch full video of Mr. Biden's "hangout" below.

(photo: lohud.com)

At the end of December, the Journal News published a detailed map cataloging all of the handgun permit owners in Westchester and Rockland counties, a move that caused much controversy among both gun rights and privacy advocates who felt the map placed figurative targets on the highlighted households. This evening, the publication announced it was was pulling the map, but claimed it was due to New York State's new gun control law, passed at the start of the week, rather than a response to criticism.

"Today The Journal News has removed the permit data from lohud.com. Our decision to do so is not a concession to critics that no value was served by the posting of the map in the first place," Journal News publisher Janet Hasson explained. "On the contrary, we’ve heard from too many grateful community members to consider our decision to post information contained in the public record to have been a mistake. Nor is our decision made because we were intimidated by those who threatened the safety of our staffers. We know our business is a controversial one, and we do not cower."

Because handgun permit information is now classified as private information, not subject to Freedom of Information Law requests, Ms. Hasson said that the map simply lost value to the newspaper's readers.

"But the database has been public for 27 days and we believe those who wanted to view it have done so already," she continued. "As well, with the passage of time, the data will become outdated and inaccurate....[W]e will keep a snapshot of our map--with all its red dots-- on our website to remind the community that guns are a fact of life we should never forget."

Update (7:12 p.m.): Senator Greg Ball, who has waged a passionate crusade against the Journal News' map, released a statement entitled, "VICTORY AGAINST IDIOCY AT JOURNAL NEWS":

"Thank God the Journal News has finally realized the error in their judgment and done the right thing. Whether they did this responding to the public's outcry or because they were simply fearful of getting sued due to the rash of burglaries and threats against law enforcement and victims of domestic violence, we will never know. Regardless, I am proud to have passed legislation keeping the Journal News from doing this ever again and proud to have been shoulder to shoulder with thousands of residents who were dealt a crappy hand by the eggheads at the Journal News. I look forward to them creating an interactive map of level three sexual predators, rapists and felons with illegal gun purchases, but I won't hold my breath."

Mayor Bloomberg speaking about the president's gun control proposals at City Hall. (Photo: NYC.gov)

Earlier today, President Barack Obama unveiled a broad set of gun control proposals prompted by the wave of anti-gun sentiment generated by last month's massacre in Newtown, Connecticut. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a prominent gun control advocate, scheduled a press conference this afternoon to praise the White House for what he described as "a bold and comprehensive plan to tackle gun violence" that matches much of his own vision.

"Today it's clear that the president and the vice president heard us and they heard the American people," Mayor Bloomberg said. "The vast majority of Americans support common-sense gun regulations, and clearly, the White House was listening."

Mayor Bloomberg described the president's action on gun control as proof democracy "really works" once people make their opinions known.

"I've always thought that democracy really works. It's the public's responsibility, however, to express themselves and to say what they need," said the mayor. "If they do that, if they do it respectfully, and clearly and repetitively, democracy will give them what is best for this country."

The mayor continued by identifying specific elements of the president's plan, which includes pushing for legislation banning the sale of new assault weapons and a set of 23 executive actions, that match proposals he has demanded through the organization he co-founded, Mayors Against Illegal Guns.

"On the legislative side, we asked for background checks for all gun sales and that is in the president's plan, we asked for restrictions on military-style automatic rifles and that's there as well, we asked for tougher penalties for gun traffickers, it's in there," Mayor Bloomberg said. "On the executive side, we urged him to appoint an ATF director, increase prosecutions for those who lie on background checks, direct federal agencies to fill in the gaps of the background check data system and remove restrictions on gun violence data and research, and the president is doing all of those things....I want to thank both President Obama and Vice President Biden for standing up and supporting these common-sense steps."

After the mayor made his initial remarks, a reporter asked whether there was anything he felt was missing from the president's proposals. The mayor said he might make some additions, but emphasized he was pleased with the plan overall.

"I listened to him and I've taken some notes," said Mayor Bloomberg of the president. "I don't know that there isn't some things that I would add, but there's always going to be some things. You know, no piece of legislation is perfect and no piece of legislation is 100 percent effective. Think of it like a speeding limit, you may every once in a while violate the speeding limit, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't have speeding limits."

Now that the president has released his plan, it remains to be seen whether Congress will pass his legislative proposals.

"Now the hard work really begins," Mayor Bloomberg said of the push for congressional support.

Mayor Bloomberg said he believes mayors, who "can best express what is appropriate for their communities," and members of the public need to "seize this moment" and urge their congressional representatives to back the president's gun control plans.

"We're going to continue to need New Yorkers and Americans to keep explaining to members of Congress just how important this is," said the mayor. "In all the time I've been working on this issue, there has never been greater public support for common-sense gun laws and it's up to all of us to make sure that Congress hears that."

 Overall, the mayor expressed confidence that Congress would support the plan.

"Look, I'm always optimistic," he said. I think people don't change their minds overnight, but they do change their minds when they have an opportunity to get a broad range of facts and think about it."

James L. Miller (Photo: Facebook)

James L. Miller is many things, a motorcycle enthusiast, accused online scammer, doomsday prepper, gunmaker and cat lover. Christian Kerodin also wears a number of hats; he is an air conditioning repairman, blogger, author, self-styled security consultant and convicted extortionist. Both men also seem to be the masterminds behind a plan to build a massive, armed survivalist compound in Idaho that has been making national headlines. 

According to the website of the Citadel, it will be a "community of 3,500 - 7,000 families of patriotic Americans who voluntarily choose to live together in accordance with Thomas Jefferson's ideal of Rightful Liberty" and is being planned for Northern Idaho. Among other things, the designs for the Citadel include a "perimeter defense" with castle-style fortified walls and towers, an on-site gun factory, hotels, schools, a "firearms museum," a "town militia," jail and farmer's market. As of now, the community is planned for Benewah County in Northern Idaho. Prospective residents of the Citadel are asked to submit to an application process that includes agreeing to participate in the militia and pass periodic proficiency tests with multiple types of firearms.

An illustration of the plans for the Citadel. (Photo: IIICitadel.com)

"Marxists, Socialists, Liberals and Establishment Republicans will likely find that life in our community is incompatible with their existing ideology and preferred lifestyles," the website says.

Though the Citadel website claims the group has no "leader" and is the work of "scores of Liberty-loving individuals," it appears Mr. Miller and Mr. Kerodin are two of the main forces behind the project. The roman numeral in the community's name seems to be derived from "III Percent Patriots," a blog operated by Mr. Kerodin where the early discussions were held planning the Citadel's design and potential locations. An entry on Mr. Kerodin's personal website describes the meaning of the term "III Percent Patriots."

"Historians consider that about 3 percent of Americans took arms and challenged the King during the Revolution. 3 percent.  III Percent.  Threepers. Patriots. We exist today," Mr. Kerodin wrote. "We are that percentage of Americans who have the tools and mettle of the Militiaman who stand and have drawn a hard line for the Hard Right of the political spectrum."

Along with his political activities, Mr. Kerodin has also worked as a repairman for heating and air conditioning systems. In 2002, Mr. Kerodin started a security consultancy. The following year, he printed an eight-page analysis of terrorism weaknesses at shopping malls in the Washington D.C. area. According to reports from the time, he subsequently contacted mall operators in the area and told them they would be included in other similar analyses if they did not hire him to conduct security assessments. A concerned company contacted the Secret Service who had an undercover agent contact Mr. Kerodin who allegedly agreed to keep the business out of his reports after accepting a $120,000 check. He was arrested and indicted for an extortion charge to which he plead guilty. Mr. Kerodin was sentenced to 30 months in prison for the crime and an associated firearms charge. As a federal felon, Mr. Kerodin cannot own a weapon, but on his website, he says he is "exploring" legal avenues to "recover" his "firearms rights."

In one of the Citadel planning posts on Mr. Kerodin's blogs, a commenter using an online alias linked to Mr. Miller, "Millerized," offers to bring his "firearm smithing" skills to the community. "Millerized," is also one of the authors of the Citadel blog. In addition to being his online alias, "Millerized" was also the name of a company previously by Mr. Miller that originally made motorcycle parts. Last October, Millerized began doing business as "III Arms." The III Arms website describes it as a firearms company "dedicated to building first-class fighting arms for the defense of Jefferson's Rightful Liberty." III Arms will have a factory inside the Citadel's walls that is planned to be the prime source of revenue and employment for the project's early residents. Mr. Miller is identified on LinkedIn as the "president" of III Arms. 

In addition to Mr. Miller's business activities, he has an extensive digital trail that includes "Millerized's" participation in sites for self-described doomsday "preppers" and survivalists. On one of these forums, Millerized describes work done in his house where he has multiple cats. A web page tied to Mr. Miller's name and address is also identified as having participated in so-called "phishing" scams on a site dedicated to identifying these fraudulent attempts to obtain personal information.

As of this writing, neither Mr. Miller or Mr. Kerodin have responded to multiple requests for comment on this story. However, Mr. Miller seems to be enjoying the attention the Citadel has recently received. A Facebook page that seems to belong to Mr. Miller features pictures of customized military fatigues with the III Arms logo and the words "Millerized" and "Patriot." It also includes a picture of one of the Citadel's more prominent media mentions, a headline about the community on the Drudge Report accompanied by the following caption from Mr. Miller:

"We are now huge."

The Journal News' map of gun owners' addresses.

In his interview on the Brooklyn GOP Radio podcast this evening, NRA President David Keene was asked about the controversial articles on Gawker and in the Journal News that contained lists of gun owners. Mr. Keene blamed the stories on cultural differences that he said exist between "elite media" and the rest of American society.

"The whole battle over the Second Amendment has little to do with crime or any of these things" Mr. Keene said. "It has to do with culture and the view that different people have about what kind of a country this ought to be."

Mr. Keene explained that he believes the media has adopted an anti-gun perspective because liberal reporters see gun ownership as antithetical to their values.

"It wasn't until the culture wars of the late 1960's, 70's and 80's that, all of a sudden, the Second Amendment became anathema to liberals who viewed it, really I think culturally, as a as symbol of an America they didn't like, an America in which people took responsibility for themselves and for the protection of their families, an America which didn't look to the state for the answer to all of its problems," said Mr. Keene. "And the media, the elite media, if anything, represents that view more than almost any segment of our society."

The Journal News' map of gun owners in Westchester and Rockland counties included their home addresses. Gawker's post was a list of gun owners in New York City that didn't have addresses, but the story's author, John Cook, said he tried to obtain that information and added links to sites where address information could be found. Mr. Keene claimed the media outlets revealing the addresses of gun owners had "tremendously terrible consequences."

"What happened there in New York with the posting of the legitimate, licensed pistol owners in Rockland County and others has had tremendously terrible consequences. As you know, now prison guards had their home addresses listed by that newspaper and are now under threat from prisoners and their allies outside," Mr. Keene said. "This was an incredibly irresponsible thing that was an attempt by this elite to demonize people who own firearms legitimately."

Gawker's post originally referred to New York City's gun owners as "assholes." Mr. Keene cited this as proof of the media's prejudice against firearms enthusiasts.

"In the minds of these people, folks that own firearms are evil," he said. "You saw how the--when the Gawker website listed all these people what they described them as. And I'm not going to repeat it on the air, but the fact of the matter is, that they see anyone who is involved in the shooting sports, who owns a firearm for whatever reason as somebody that they hate."

Mr. Keene said the media's demonization of gun owners resulted in him and NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre receiving "hundreds of death threats" in the aftermath of last months massacre in Newtown, Connecticut. He finished discussing the issue by reiterating his view that media bias against guns is caused by cultural differences and not any concern about violence.

"It's a result not of a concern about crime, but about the vast cultural differences between these elites and the rest of us in this society."

Politicker attempted to speak with Mr. Keene after his interview, but he declined to answer our questions.