Login

Register | Forgot Your Password? | Close

NEW YORK (AP) - A gun control group founded by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is airing a Super Bowl advertisement calling for background checks.

The 30-second spot by Mayors Against Illegal Guns will air in the Washington area during the game between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers.

The ad calls on lawmakers to pass rules requiring background checks on guns. It is narrated by children, with "America the Beautiful" playing in the background.

It includes decades-old footage of National Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre saying the gun lobby group approves of the checks. LaPierre recently testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that the NRA no longer supports background checks for all gun sales.

A Bloomsberg spokesman would say only that the ad cost in the six-figure range.

Mayors Against Illegal Guns is a coalition of more than 900 mayors from 48 states.


(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

share this story:
facebook

19 Comments   |   Join the conversation »
  • Add A Comment 
  • Abuse
    Michoacan wrote...
    What's all the fuss about background checks?
    February 3, 2013 8:22 am
    Mad Dog LaPierre thought that they were a good idea. "The message of the NRA’s 1999 campaign was “Be Reasonable,” and the organization bought ads in top newspapers, including USA Today, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal, to make its case “We believe it’s reasonable to provide for instant background checks at gun shows, just like gun stores and pawn shops,” the USA Today ad reads. “We’ve always supported instant background checks,” LaPierre sat at a Friends of NRA event in May 1999..."
  • Abuse
    az83 wrote...
    Michoacan, didn't we..
    February 3, 2013 8:32 am
    go over UBC? Plus, gun dealers at gun shows are required to do background checks just as if they sold the gun in their store.
  • Abuse
    Steve wrote...
    Money will buy anything
    February 3, 2013 8:36 am
    Even anti American propaganda from dead beat liberals.
  • Abuse
    Michoacan wrote...
    You persuaded yourself that the current
    February 3, 2013 8:36 am
    system of background checks is adequate. It is not. Millions of guns are sold to people who should not have them by people that might not do otherwise if they were required to do background checks. Society suffers as a consequence.
  • Abuse
    Steve wrote...
    @ brain dead liberals
    February 3, 2013 8:41 am
    can't understand that a criminal will still get a gun without a background check. Besides the Obama administration doesn't prosecute the gun laws we have now. They're to busy selling to the cartels and not conducting background checks themselves.
  • Abuse
    az83 wrote...
    Michoacan, millions? Really?
    February 3, 2013 9:03 am
    Society suffers as a consequence of ignorant people like you. Criminals do not obey laws, they steal guns or buy stolen guys from other criminals. By the way, there is a cure for ignorance, it's called knowledge.
  • Abuse
    Michoacan wrote...
    Steve and az83 call names as little children
    February 3, 2013 9:11 am
    would do to cover for the weakness of their position. "The next biggest source of illegal gun transactions where criminals get guns are sales made by legally licensed but corrupt at-home and commercial gun dealers. Several recent reports back up Wachtel's own studies about this, and make the case that illegal activity by those licensed to sell guns, known as Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs), is a huge source of crime guns and greatly surpasses the sale of guns stolen from John Q. Citizen" Gun nuts and the NRA fight efforts to stop these transactions.
  • Abuse
    wrote...
    A couple of points...
    February 3, 2013 9:16 am
    I'll split this into two messages since KTAR feels we can comment but not too much. First, why does everyone think that what they say to Michoacan will actuually hit home and become the magic bullet that will get him to give up his socialist ways and support the Bill of Rights? He is too far gone to save and should be allowed to spew his retoric without reply as it only serves to fuel his desire to annoy. Trust me, he WILL go away if he isn't "fed".
  • Abuse
    az83 wrote...
    Shaking my head in..
    February 3, 2013 9:18 am
    ..disbelieve.
  • Abuse
    wrote...
    Second comment...
    February 3, 2013 9:21 am
    Second, background checks for firearms are only a measure to try to solve a problem that is totally unrelated to the measure. Pretty soon we will have to call MVD and make sure that the person we are selling our car to has a valid DL or face penalties for letting them drive off in a dangerous weapon. Same goes for making sure the people we are selling our used baby stuff (since the youngest is now 10 and not needing their crib anymore) actually HAVE a baby of the proper size so as to not overload the equipment and that they acquired it (the baby) via lawful means.