gun control

Mayor Bloomberg’s Gun Control Group Will Tackle the NRA After Halftime

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 21: National Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre calls on Congress to pass a law putting armed police officers in every school in America during a news conference at the Willard Hotel December 21, 2012 in Washington, DC. This is the first public appearance that leaders of the gun rights group have made since a 20-year-old man used a popular assault-style rifle to slaughter 20 school children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, one week ago. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Wayne LaPierre. Photo: Alex Wong/2012 Getty Images

Washington, D.C area residents opposed to gun control and/or non-humorous Super Bowl ads might want to head to the kitchen for another beer during the third-quarter commercial break in tonight’s big game. While the 49ers and the Ravens take a brief pause from pummeling each other, Michael Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns will go after the NRA in a 30-second spot calling for support on mandatory background  checks for gun sales. The clip, which was first online on Sunday morning, is pretty straightforward: While “America the Beautiful” plays and photos of little kids looking worried-yet-hopeful flash across the screen, a child’s voice points out that the NRA was once in favor of background checks (no longer the case.) The little narrator then pauses to roll a video of NRA head Wayne LaPierre (who hasn’t aged much) endorsing background checks to Congress in 1999. “America can do this. For us. Please,” concludes the voice-over.

A Bloomberg spokesperson said the cost of the ad was in the six-figure range — less than the nearly $4 million it would take to run it nationally, but enough to reach the people MAIG is trying to reach here: D.C. lawmakers. Now the organization just has to hope that tonight’s game is an emotional one.

Bloomberg Super Bowl Ad Takes on NRA