The Knox Report
From the Firearms Coalition
The Bloomberg Dilemma
By Jeff Knox
(January 5, 2007) New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg is at it again. He recently filed federal civil suits against 12 more federally licensed firearms dealers in South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. In his well-publicized effort to “stem the flow of illegal guns” into New York, Bloomberg hired private detectives to enter gun shops around the country to covertly video gun dealers making “questionable” sales. He then files civil suits charging the dealers with knowingly and recklessly contributing to New York’s crime problems by selling guns to crooks. These suits are intended to either drive the targeted dealers out of business or to force them to agree to oversight by a court-appointed “special master” that essentially opens their books to the New York City mayor’s office. Dealers can expect Bloomberg’s antics to continue for the next couple of years, as the city’s $800,000 contract with the detective agency runs through 2008.