'Today, the NRA's power is so vastly overrated'
Briefing: Bloomberg. Edward Reed via flickr
4:32 pm Dec. 17, 2012
Washington
The "guns of America aren’t going anywhere any time soon" and critics "must reckon with this fact," write the editors at a conservative magazine. [National Review]
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said fiscal cliff negotiations should not distract Obama and the congress from working on new gun control laws. [NY1]
Regarding Bloomberg's endorsement of Obama, which he says was related to the president's gun-control position: "Thought it was [because] of climate change." [@AnnieKarni]
The mayor unveiled a new website where victims of gun violence can "Demand a Plan" and pressure federal lawmakers into action. [YouTube]
The site: DemandAPlan.org
Bloomberg was visibly emotional at his press conference. [Ruby Cramer]
Bloomberg gently disagreed with Times columnist David Brooks about what role he could play in a national gun-control debate. [Elise Foley]
Bloomberg: "Today, the NRA's power is so vastly overrated." [Byron Tau]
WNYC host Richard Hake said his sister is a kindergarten teacher and the first thing she's going to do is "hug all of her students." [Brian Lehrer]
Picture: Parents looking at their kids after dropping them at at school in Queens this morning. [Tumblr]
2013
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn's office hired RWDSU's political and legislative affairs director Ademola Oyefeso. [Chris Bragg]
Historian and author Fred Siegel endorsed a candidate for City Council, Matthew Silverstein. [DocStoc]
Albany
The most significant thing Cuomo has done on the issue of guns is to withdraw from the national ballistics database, said a Newsday writer. [via Danny Hakim]
Flashback: The move was praised by the president of the New York Rifle and Pistol Association. [Fred Dicker]
Talking about gun legislation, Cuomo kept the focus on Washington, but left the door open to some new legislation in Albany. [Glenn Blain]
What Cuomo said about gun control when he campaigned in 2010. [Nick Reisman]
Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera said legislation to help police "crack down on semi-automatics" and keep track of illegal guns "failed to move forward because of the State Senate." [Facebook]
A Republican State Senate candidate is declaring victory in a closely watched recount. [@TUCapCon]
