New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a leader in a movement among city officials for gun control, addressed President Obama's statement on the Connecticut school shootings by saying that "meaningful action is not enough."
"We need immediate action," he said. "We have heard all
the rhetoric before. What we have not seen is leadership - not from the
White House and not from Congress. That must end today. This is a
national tragedy and it demands a national response. My deepest
sympathies are with the families of all those affected, and my
determination to stop this madness is stronger than ever."
Bloomberg's office sent out a Twitter link to an online petition called Demand a Plan. On social media, another link is being circulated to sign names to a petition on the White House's We the People site, force the administration to respond to a call to "have a conversation about increased regulation of firearms."
Bloomberg's full statement is below.
"With all the carnage from gun violence in
our country, it's still almost impossible to believe that a mass
shooting in a kindergarten class could happen. It has come to that. Not
even kindergarteners learning their ABC's are safe. We heard after
Columbine that it was too soon to talk about gun laws. We heard it after
Virginia Tech. After Tucson and Aurora and Oak Creek. And now we are
hearing it again. For every day we wait, 34 more people are murdered
with guns. Today, many of them were five-year olds. President Obama
rightly sent his heartfelt condolences to the families in Newtown. But
the country needs him to send a bill to Congress to fix this problem.
Calling for 'meaningful action' is not enough. We need immediate action.
We have heard all the rhetoric before. What we have not seen is
leadership - not from the White House and not from Congress. That must
end today. This is a national tragedy and it demands a national
response. My deepest sympathies are with the families of all those
affected, and my determination to stop this madness is stronger than
ever."
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