Mayor Bloomberg (Photo: Getty)

In the wake of last week's shooting in Aurora, Colorado, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is keeping up his call for President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney to address the issue of illegal guns in their race for the White House. Hizzoner appeared on MSNBC's Morning Joe today where he criticized both candidates for running for president "without having a plan" on gun control. He also pledged to keep up his push on gun control and argued that the aftermath of a tragedy like the Aurora shooting is the best time to raise the issue.

"People say it's bad politics to address the issue. I think the'yre wrong. I'm going to try to stir it up and so is everybody else," said Mayor Bloomberg. "You ask one of the families, 'Is this the time to focus on how to keep their other child from getting killed? I think they'd be on the side of--do it now."

Mayor Bloomberg wouldn't divulge what he has discussed during his personal meetings with President Obama and Mr. Romney, but he blamed fear of the NRA for the reluctance of the presidential candidates and other elected officials to take an aggressive stance on combating illegal guns.

"I think any private conversation I've had with them is going to stay private, but I think there is a perception among the political world that the NRA has more power than the American people. I don't believe that," Mayor Bloomberg said.

Mayor Bloomberg said solving the problem involves "reasonable restrictions" and enforcing existing federal gun laws. For example, he said high powered rifles and armor piercing bullets do not need to be sold for hunting purposes.

"When was the last time you saw a deer with a flak jacket on?" Mayor Bloomberg asked.

He also cited a need to "plug the one or two loopholes in the laws" that have "already passed."

"This gun show loophole where we require everybody to have a background check, but not for casual purposes," said Mayor Bloomberg. "When you see a dealer at a gun show with 500 guns, that's not casual."

According to the Mayor, claimed "99 percent" of gun dealers currently "follow the law" and that cracking down on illegal guns wouldn't be "onerous for them."

"All you've got to do is follow the promises that were made by the elected officials back when they were pandering and said, "We're going to fix this problem," Mayor Bloomberg said.

The Mayor brought up President Obama and Mr. Romney's past support for a federal assault weapons ban.

"Governor Romney, when he was Governor of Massachusetts...signed and talked favorably about a ban on assault weapons," said Mayor Bloomberg. "Massachusetts banned assault weapons. "The President of the United States Barack Obama, when he was campaigning, he campaigned in favor of a ban on assault weapons. Where are they?"

Mayor Bloomberg claimed gun control could be crucial if one of the candidates brings it up on the campaign trail because it's an issue important to independent voters.

"You're going to have to vote for one of the two of them, but I think, if you really take a look here, there's a big chunk of the public that's going to vote for Romney no matter what. There's a big chunk of the public, roughly equal size, that's going to vote for...Obama," Mayor Bloomberg said. "It's the middle, those are the people who aren't ideologues. They want an answer to questions like this and, in the end, they're going to decide the election.

In over a decade in office, Mayor Bloomberg has made his crusade to get illegal off the street one of his signature initiatives. He is the co-chair for the Mayors Against Illegal Guns campaign, which he launched in 2006 Boston Mayor Thomas Menino.

Following Thursday night's shooting in Aurora, he blasted the presidential candidates for failing to present any solution to stem the flow of illegal guns in his weekly appearance on John Gambling's radio show.

"Soothing words are nice, but maybe it’s time that the two people who want to be President of the United States stand up and tell us what they are going to do about it, because this is obviously a problem across the country,” he said.

Both President Obama and Mr. Romney have personally lobbied Mayor Bloomberg, who is an independent, for his endorsement. The Mayor didn't endorse anyone in the 2008 presidential race after giving George W. Bush his backing in 2004. He invoked the nation's last high profile mass shooting to say a tragedy was not an excuse not to discuss gun control.

"How anybody can run for the highest office in the country, where 48,000 people are going to get killed in the next four years and not have a plan--and maybe they do, maybe they have a secret plan to end the war, but I don't know that that's going to sell here," said Mayor Bloomberg. "People say, we'll you shouldn't address it now because we're in a time of crisis and mourning. Yeah, well, 18 months since Arizona and you did nothing. If not now, when are you going to do it?"

(Photo: Getty)

On John Gambling's radio show this morning, Mayor Michael Bloomberg took some time to continue his crusade against illegal guns, and made the case for what voters should do to get organized.

"What you've got to do is take a look at your Congressman, your Senator, and say 'Where are you? I'm not going to worry about everybody else. I'm going to work for your opponent unless you do what's right to protect my kids and the cops on the corner who are putting their lives on the line to protect me," Mr. Bloomberg responded when Mr. Gambling asked how voters are supposed to make a difference in such a complicated legislative body.

"If surviving isn't the number one issue, I don't know what else. Let's get serious here!" he added.

Mr. Bloomberg then made the case that Washington legislators should face scrutiny no matter how bad their opponents are on gun control issues. "I'll deal with your opponent when I get that man or woman when he gets into office," he advocated voters tell their representatives.

"Because that's exactly what the NRA does. You say 'Oh my opponent's going to be worse for the NRA than me.' They say 'I don't care, we're going after you.'"

Rory Lancman (Photo: Facebook)

Democratic Queens Assemblyman Rory Lancman is taking issue with newly minted GOP Congressman Bob Turner declining to state his position on federal gun control legislation. Assemblyman Lancman is frequently mentioned as a possible candidate against Congressman Turner next election and this latest salvo represents a continuation of  the Assemblyman's efforts to keep the heat on Turner in the meantime.

“Congressman Bob Turner’s troubling position on guns leaves Queens families and New York’s finest vulnerable,” Assemblyman Lancman said in a press release. “It’s extremely unsettling that someone who represents me and my community would put our safety at risk to satisfy the gun lobby.” 

The release goes on to note "Turner’s refusal to support gun control legislation comes on the heels of the tragic slaying of NYPD Officer Peter Figoski in December, a murder that was committed using an out-of-state gun."

Following then-Congressman Weiner's resignation, Assemblyman Lancman was a top contender to go toe-to-toe with Mr. Turner in 2011, although Democrats ultimately selected Assemblyman David Weprin instead. As the district leans towards their party, Democrats are hopeful that they'll be able to successfully challenge Congressman Turner should the district survive redistricting.

The initiative is part of the Citizens Crime Commission and is trying to make the case that high capacity clips are public safety threat, since they can leave the police outgunned.

“Both Richard Belzer and Bill Bratton understand that sensible gun control protects the public and the people who put their lives on the line to defend and serve it: law enforcement," said Richard Aborn, president of the Citizens Crime Commission. "Thanks to their outspoken commitment to common sense policies, together with ongoing support from law enforcement, it is becoming increasingly difficult for Congress to ignore. We are extremely grateful for their support."

Bratton has been toying with running for mayor, and Aborn, who ran for Manhattan D.A. and lost in 2009, has been mentioned as a possible candidate in the future. And considering that both Alec Baldwin and Kelsey Grammer say they want to run for mayor of New York City, we expect Belzer to announce his Public Advocate campaign any day now.

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