By Heather Grossmann
DNAinfo News Editor
MANHATTAN — Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s national anti-gun organization marked the 11th anniversary of the Columbine shootings on Tuesday by launching a campaign against a federal law enabling the sale of guns to criminals at gun shows.
The ads, sponsored by “Mayors Against Illegal Guns,” urge viewers to call their senators and demand they close the “gun show loophole,” which allows private dealers to sell firearms at gun shows without doing background checks.
All four of the guns used in the Columbine shootings, which led to the death of 14 students — including the two killers — and one teacher, were purchased at gun shows.
“…While criminals are busy evading critical background checks at gun shows, Congress continues to turn a blind eye to this glaring gap in our nation’s gun laws,” Bloomberg said in a statement.
“This new national campaign will deliver a clear message to Washington: it’s time to close the Gun Show Loophole once and for all.”
The ads will run nationally on CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News, as well as in local markets across Mass., Ohio, Maine, Colo. and Va.
The ads say that momentum is building in the Senate to close the loophole, and ends with, “Eleven years after Columbine. It’s time.”
