Heard of a political executive pumping in his own millions to promote a public causeIJ New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is an indefatigable fighter, who is also endowed with bounteous wealth and a large heart. Gun control is one of the public causes dear to his heart and this past week, he announced plans to fork out $12 million from his personal fortune for a national advertising blitz for the enactment of tougher gun laws.
With that huge outlay, Bloomberg has decided to take on an organisation with extraordinary deep pockets and a phenomenal reach — the National Rifle Association (NRA), which does not brook any tinkering with the Second Amendment right of every American to bear arms, no matter the huge toll that this unrestrained gun culture has been taking across America on a daily basis.
Bloomberg, of course, is a rich man. Forbes magazine ranks him as the world’s 13th richest person and estimates his wealth at $27 billion. His philanthropic activities are well-known. Bloomberg’s own website says, rather immodestly, that till now, the entrepreneur-turned-mayor has donated more than $2.4 billion to a wide variety of causes and organisations.
In 2011 alone, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $330 million, placing him in the top five of the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s list of America’s top 50 philanthropists. The mayor is the founder-owner of Bloomberg lP, the New York-based financial mass media giant that is said to have more than 300,000 subscribers and 13,000 employees in over 185 locations around the world.
“The NRA has just had this field to itself. It’s the only one that’s been speaking out. It’s time for another voice,” says Bloomberg, now in his 12th year as mayor of NYC.
His commercial blitz, however, will not only counter the NRA’s own powerful campaign on gun rights, but also goad a divided US Congress to pass the pending legislative package at the earliest. The delays on Capitol Hill and dilution of the proposed measures have obviously not gone down well with the bereaved families of 20 children and six adults who were killed in the horrific mass shooting in a Connecticut Elementary School last December. There have been other shooting rampages over the past year, including the ones at a Colorado movie complex and a Wisconsin gurdwara. Grieving families are all wondering whether the Congress will act and, if so, how soon and how effectively.
While Republican lawmakers are traditionally known to be strong supporters of gun rights. However, not all Democrats are backing a stiff gun control package. Some fear losing their seats. This has already resulted in some dilution of the package by excluding the initially-proposed ban on military-type assault weapons.
Bloomberg’s commercials will, among other things, focus on lawmakers who could be persuaded to support the legislation that the Congress is slated to take up after the Easter recess. Although he is disappointed with the exclusion of curbs on assault weapons, Bloomberg believes in the importance of getting at least the rest of the legislation through. “You don’t want to lose everything in the interest of getting the perfect,” he commented in an interview. His ad blitz is focusing on 13 key States, including Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Arizona.
Curiously enough, six Democratic Senators up for re-election next year from Republican-leaning States are playing it safe by not antagonising voters who feel strongly about their gun rights. While those not up for re-election too are resentful of Bloomberg’s campaign. “I don’t need someone from NYC to tell me how to handle crime in our state. We can prosecute criminals without the need to infringe upon the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding North Dakotans,” commented Heidi Heitkamp, a Democratic Senator. On the Republican side, at least three conservative Senators have threatened to filibuster any new restrictions on guns.
For Bloomberg, the gun control initiative comes not long after he lost out on another pet cause. Earlier this month, a New York Supreme Court judge put the brakes on the mayor’s plan to ban the sale of large sugary drinks beyond 16 ounces as part of his other battle against obesity.
“It is arbitrary and capricious because it applies to some but not all food establishments in the city, it excludes other beverages that have significantly higher concentrations of sugar sweeteners and/or calories on suspect grounds, and the loopholes inherent in the rule, including no limitations on refills, defeat and/or serve to gut the purpose of the rule,” Judge Milton wrote.
However, Mayor Bloomberg has not taken kindly to the court’s verdict. He has vowed to appeal, declaring: “I have to defend my children, you and everybody else and do what’s right to save lives. Obesity kills. There’s just no question about it.”
