In Connecticut, where gun violence prevention has been a major issue since the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s strong record on the issue will likely resonate with a wide swath of voters in the April Democratic presidential primary.
“What [Bloomberg] has done is not only advocate gun violence prevention, but also he has literally put his money where his mouth is,” said U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who has not made an endorsement in the primary. “He has been enormously strategic and successful in channeling resources to build a grassroots organization and demand action.”
On the issue of gun safety, Bloomberg has deep credentials. He cofounded Mayors Against Illegal Guns in 2006; it has since merged with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America to become the nonprofit gun control advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety.
In a recent digital ad that appeared online across Connecticut, Bloomberg’s campaign touted his record on guns and made a direct connection to Sandy Hook. The ad featured Mary Ann Jacob, a librarian who survived the shooting and, along with colleagues, has been credited with saving 18 kids by hiding them in a supply closet and blocking the library doors with a filing cabinet.
“When the [gun control] legislation in Congress failed, it made me wonder if anybody in Washington cared,” Jacob says in the ad. “No one else was able to step in and do what Mike has done, and you know what? That’s made all the difference in the world.”
“I think he’s got a proven track record,” said state Rep. Christopher Rosario, a Bridgeport Democrat who is a co-chair of Bloomberg’s campaign in Connecticut. “I know the issue gets amplified because you hear situations like Sandy Hook and Parkland, but we can’t forget about urban gun violence, where you may have shootings that may not necessarily have happened on school grounds or in the school but that happen around the school, which is something that impacts a place like Bridgeport.”
In Connecticut, like the rest of the U.S., gun control has remained a deeply partisan issue. A 2019 Pew Research Center Survey found that while the percentage of Americans who support stricter gun laws has increased from 52% to 60% since 2017, only 31% of Republicans share that viewpoint.
Bloomberg, who is ramping up his efforts in Connecticut, is running on a platform that includes banning assault weapons, stronger background checks for gun buyers, greater oversight of gun show and internet sales and several other strategies, many of which have also been adopted by his Democratic rivals.
As a result, some state leaders, including U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, say they don’t believe gun safety will make much of a difference in how Connecticut voters choose a candidate in the April 28 primary.
“I’ve never thought that the issue of gun violence was going to be a deciding factor in the Democratic primary because there’s not a lot of differences [among the candidates],” Murphy said. “The issue of guns is going to be a deciding factor in the general election, because over the last four years, voters have come to the conclusion they don’t want to elect people who are in lockstep with the NRA. And Donald Trump is, unfortunately, in lockstep with the NRA.”
Since the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary, which Bloomberg largely avoided, the self-made billionaire trails only Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden nationally, according to a RealClear Politics’ average of leading polls.
But Bloomberg has been widely criticized for his “stop-and-frisk” legacy of policing, which disproportionately affected African American and Latino men during his time as mayor of New York.
On Tuesday, an audio clip surfaced on social media in which Bloomberg said 95 percent of your murders — murderers and murder victims — fit one M.O. … They are male minorities, 16 to 25. You can just take the description, Xerox it, and pass it out to all the cops.”
In 2018, Bloomberg spent millions backing House candidates who supported stricter gun laws in 24 states, according to the New York Times. Of the 21 Democrats who won their elections, 12 were running in tossup or GOP districts.
“The members of Congress who won were really very out front on [gun violence prevention], and that’s the reason why we have a major set of initiatives on gun control coming out of this Congress,” Blumenthal said. “And [Bloomberg] helped those candidates. He recognizes the need to organize politically, not just talk about it. He’s not only talked the talk, he’s put money into it. I admire him for choosing it as a priority.”
On Wednesday, one of those candidates — Georgia congresswoman and gun control advocate Lucy McBath, whose 17-year-old son was shot and killed in 2012 — endorsed Bloomberg.
Murphy, who likewise hasn’t endorsed a presidential candidate, said he’s been “really proud to partner with [Bloomberg] and his organizations when it comes to fighting for anti-gun violence measures. But you know, what I’m excited about is that there’s really no difference between the candidates on the Democratic side when it comes to the issue of guns. They all are strong supporters of the kind of measures that I and the broad majority of Americans across the country support.”
Po Murray, chairwoman of Newtown Action Alliance, a grassroots organization formed in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings, called Bloomberg “a long-standing supporter of gun violence prevention” who has “obviously invested significant amounts of his personal dollars into gun violence prevention. … It has helped to change the national dialogue, particularly after the Sandy Hook tragedy.”
Murray added that the Newtown Action Alliance will support whoever emerges from the Democratic field to run against Trump.
“It’s quite simple: Any other candidate on the Democratic ticket will be much stronger to fulfill our mission of ending gun violence in America than Donald Trump,” she said.
When asked if Newtown Action Alliance has a friendly relationship with Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety, Murray pointed to what sets them apart.
“The difference is that we are an all-volunteer organization,” she said. “We decided to maintain our volunteer status because we did not want to be influenced by money in fulfilling our mission. So because of that, I believe we have been able to pursue a stronger, bolder, progressive agenda.”
Michael Hamad can be reached at mhamad@courant.com.
