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Continue readingWill Bloomberg’s wrath hurt senators who opposed gun bill?
Billionaire Mayor Mike Bloomberg is asking prominent Democratic donors in New York, a key source of funds for candidates across the country, to stop contributing to the four Democratic senators who voted to block a bill that would have strengthened background checks for gun buyers, the New York Times reported.
Continue readingMayors Against Illegal Guns runs ad backing Nevada background checks
The latest TV ad by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the gun control group funded by Mayor Mike Bloomberg, hit the airwaves in Nevada this week, ahead of a close vote Wednesday on a background check bill that passed the state Senate.
The bill would close the loophole that allows private sales to be made without checking the criminal background of the purchaser. It also bans people deemed mentally ill and likely to harm someone from possessing a gun. The bill can be followed on Scout, Sunlight's tool for tracking the progress of state and federal legislation.
The bill passed ...
Continue readingWhy four Dems opposed extending background checks
Back in February, we at Sunlight made some predictions about the Democrats who would be most likely to defect on a gun vote, based on three factors: being up for a vote in 2014, having a high number of gun businesses in the state, and having a low Obama vote share. Here's what we wrote at the time about four Democrats we predicted would be most likely to oppose gun reform.
- Max Baucus: Montana has 120 gun businesses per 100,000 people, highest in the country (according to ATF statistics). Only 41.8% of Montana voters supported Obama in 2012. (Tester, who just won re-election faces similar pressures)
- Mark Begich: Alaska has 104 gun businesses per 100,000 people. Only 41.3% of Alaskans voted for Obama in 2012.
- Tim Johnson: South Dakota has 66 gun businesses per 100,000 people. Only 39.9% of South Dakotans supported Obama in 2012.
- Mark Pryor: Arkansas has 45 gun businesses per 100,00 people. Only 36.9% of Arkansans voted for Obama in 2012.
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