Mayor Bloomberg may have been the most unpopular person at the nation’s largest gathering of gun nuts on Friday — and he wasn’t even there.
Members of the National Rifle Association, attending their annual bullet bash in St. Louis, took aim at Hizzoner on Friday for his bold campaign against illegal guns. They called him a bastard, told him to mind his business and challenged his credibility.
And those were just comments fit for print in the Daily News.
“Outlawing gun ownership or preventing people from defending themselves isn’t going to solve any problems,” said Tom Seeba, 67, an NRA member from Reno, Nev. “And I think Mayor Bloomberg is an arrogant bastard to try to implement such a strategy.”
Seeba was just getting started.
“I think Mayor Bloomberg is the epitome of the nanny state, of the elite executives that want to control everything and control people’s lives,” he said.
Bloomberg didn’t take the bait when asked to respond to the pro-gun bashing. He also drew the group’s ire on Wednesday when he went to the National Press Club in Washington to announce a partnership with black leaders to reform or repeal stand-your-ground laws on the books in 25 states.
The laws, which allow someone to use deadly force if they feel threatened, came into the spotlight after George Zimmerman killed an unarmed teen in Sanford, Fla., on Feb. 26.
“The NRA’s leaders weren’t even interested in public safety,” Bloomberg told The News this week. “They were interested in promoting a culture where people take the law into their own hands and face no consequences for it.”
As many as 60,000 people were expected to attend the gun meeting at the America’s Center convention hall. There were hundreds of booths on the exhibition floor selling guns, ammunition and jewelry made of bullets.
It was difficult to find anyone who would even consider strengthening background checks for gun purchases. NRA members were unified against Bloomberg’s campaign for a proposed gun law requiring bullet casings to carry unique markings.
Bloomberg believes the technology, known as microstamping, would help solve gun crimes.
The NRA has given about $217,000 to New York legislators and political committees since 2003 — the highest poured into any state over that time period. Almost half the tally came in 2010 after the defeat of the microstamping bill, details first reported by the News.
Bloomberg and NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly have been outspoken against the pipeline of illegal guns from the South to the streets of New York City. Four cops were wounded on Easter Sunday by an ex-con firing an illegal gun. Over the last four months, eight city cops were shot while on duty. One of them, Peter Figoski, was killed.
At the NRA convention, Missouri State Sen. Brian Munzlinger ripped Bloomberg as anti-American.
“I truly don’t believe Bloomberg believes in our Constitution and I just don’t like want he’s been doing,” said Munzlinger. “I definitely wish he’d stay out of Missouri. I’m glad I’m from Missouri and not New York City.”
Several members of the pro-gun crowd pouring into Missouri suggested Bloomberg stop trying to meddle in other states.
“If he wants to be able to do [anti-gun activism\\] in his state and his people in his state back him, that’s their business,” said Ron Myer, of Macy, Ind.
“Just stay out of my state.”
Even some from the Empire State distanced themselves from the mayor.
Jacob Rieper, of the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, said Bloomberg has “zero credibility” on the issue of gun laws.
Bill Ross, an NRA member from Dunlap, Ill., said there were enough laws on the books.
“Let’s enforce those,” Ross said.
New York City-born Susan Houde-Walker, of Rochester, grew up in the Big Apple and loves her guns. She’s the CEO of LaserMax, a company that designs laser-sighting systems.
“I grew up in and around New York City and I thought guns were for NYPD and bad guys,” she said. “It was only when I moved outside and got introduced to personal protection that I realized that it was not only quite all right, (gun ownership) was a great privilege and responsibility.”
She echoed the chorus of NRA members walking the convention halls with the Second Amendment on their brains.
“With all due respect to Mayor Bloomberg,” she said, “I disagree with his stance against guns.”
rschapiro
@nydailynews.com
