After conducting stings in Arizona that proved how easy it was to obtain firearms illegally, the mayor is again pressing the issue with a new ad campaign. Mayor Bloomberg's coalition, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, has released a new TV spot that features Al Qaeda's American-born operative Adam Gadahn extolling the virtues of America's gun show loophole, saying "America is absolutely awash with easily obtainable firearms…So what are you waiting for?"
Though you can't actually purchase fully automatic weapons without a license from the ATF, most gun shows do not require background checks as a normal gun store would, and the expos become sources for illegal weapons even in states that ban them. For instance, Virginia is rife with gun shows and happens to be the number one source of illegal firearms in the state of New York. "Weak gun laws aren't just a crime problem, they're a national security threat," the mayor tells the Daily News. "This ad should be a wake-up call to Congress."
While support for tighter gun control legislation briefly seemed to surge after the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, the NRA still has a relatively tight hold on Washington. And a Republican-dominated Congress all but assures that a bill with teeth would fail. "Simply because terrorists abuse our liberties doesn't mean that we should limit the rights of law-abiding Americans," Texas Rep. Lamar Smith says without a hint of irony. "To limit our rights is to give in to terrorists and the fear they try to spread."
