Presidential contender Michael Bloomberg on Sunday called New York City’s restriction on where gun owners can transport their guns “unnecessary,” despite defending the same restriction when he was mayor.
“It imposed an unnecessary restriction on gun owners’ ability to visit ranges—and it was rightly rescinded,” Bloomberg wrote in an op-ed for the Chicago Tribune about the regulation currently being challenged before the Supreme Court.
However, in a filing defending the regulation during Bloomberg’s tenure as mayor, the city’s lawyers argued “it is clear” the travel restriction “serves an important or substantial government interest in public safety.” The June 2013 filing further said the rule, which prohibited gun owners from taking their firearms anywhere other than approved ranges in the city, did not burden “core” Second Amendment rights, and that police needed it in order to decide where people could transport their firearms.
The contradiction between Bloomberg’s legal actions as mayor and his statement as a presidential candidate may call into question his credibility. His new contention that one of New York City’s restrictive gun laws was unnecessary contrasts with his position as the largest donor to the gun-control movement, which has long pushed for New York-style gun laws across the country. – READ MORE