Mayor Bloomberg's campaign to derail illegal handguns suffered a blow yesterday, when a bill that would require some bullet casings to carry traceable unique markings was rejected by the State Senate. Despite an enormous amount of behind-the-scenes wheeling and dealing on his part, only one Republican backed the "microstamping" measure, which was ultimately withdrawn at the last moment to help Bloomberg save face (and ensure the possibility of another vote later in session). But behind yesterday's near-vote are signs that there could be major repercussions for the NY State GOP.
Bloomberg has been notoriously dedicated to fighting the spread of illegal guns, going so far as to sue out-of-state dealers, even at the cost of some political capital with his allies. Traveling to Albany to lobby for the bill, Bloomberg wound up in a "passionate," raised-voices discussion with deputy Senate Minority leader Sen. Tom Libous. According to Liz Benjamin, the fight was ostensibly about the bill's contents, which the wealthy gun lobby is vehemently against, but sub-textually about Bloomberg's own slow break with the party:
Libous privately argued to members of his conference that Bloomberg, who has contributed $1.2 million to the Senate GOP since 2003, is unlikely to continue his support given the close split in the chamber and should therefore not be put ahead of the gun lobby, which not only has deep pockets, but also passionate grassroots advocates in crucial upstate districts.
Bloomberg’s last check for $500,000 to the Senate GOP’s housekeeping committee came in February 2008, just as the battle for control of the chamber was shaping up. The mayor bet wrong in that contest, as the Democrats ended up winning the majority for the first time in more than four decades. The mayor hasn’t written a single check to the GOP since, but the damage he did by backing the losing side was deep.
The New York State Rifle and Pistol Association released a statement this morning commending the bill's failure: "The State Senate's refusal to act upon a useless and purely politically correct bill on Tuesday was a victory for all New Yorkers...The Senators who spoke in favor of passage demonstrated their complete lack of common sense and utter contempt for our civil rights. Even more disgraceful was Mayor Michael Bloomberg's shameless attempts to buy passage of this legislation with the implied promise of providing financial support to the re-election campaigns of Senators who support the bill."
And one insider gave some more context regarding Bloomberg and the GOP's split to Benjamin: “I would say the relationship suffered a major setback...The mayor cares very much about guns. If the Republicans couldn’t give him three votes on a microstamping bill, what does that mean if they take back the majority? They’ll never put a gun bill on the floor.”
