Michael Bloomberg pledges $50 million to curb gun violence, take on the N.R.A.

(Image credit: SPENCER PLATT/Getty Images)

last updated 8 January 2015

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is pledging to spend $50 million this year to combat gun violence in America. He's forming a group called Everytown for Gun Safety to counter the influence of the National Rife Association, reports The New York Times. It will serve as a "grass-roots network to motivate voters who feel strongly about curbing gun violence."

Everytown will consist of Bloomberg's two other anti-gun violence groups: Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. Starting today, the "Gun Sense Voter" campaign hopes to mobilize at least one million voters to put pressure on lawmakers to support laws that boost gun safety.

Bloomberg's influence on the group will go beyond his checkbook. He said he will help advocates adopt the N.R.A.'s own bulldog tactics by punishing politicians who say they believe in gun control but don't do anything about it. "They say, 'We don't care. We're going to go after you,'" he said of the N.R.A. "'If you don't vote with us we're going to go after your kids and your grandkids and your great-grandkids. And we're never going to stop.'"

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Jordan Valinsky is the lead writer for Speed Reads. Before joining The Week, he wrote for New York Observer's tech blog, Betabeat, and tracked the intersection between popular culture and the internet for The Daily Dot. He graduated with a degree in online journalism from Ohio University.

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