Dec 5, 2019
Michael Bloomberg releases 2020 gun safety plan
Michael Bloomberg. Photo: Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images
Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg (D-N.Y.) released a gun safety plan as part of his 2020 platform on Thursday.
The big picture: Gun control has been a key issue for Democrats in the crowded presidential primary field. The party largely advocates for common sense reforms to address background checks, loopholes and assault weapons.
Details... Bloomberg seeks to:
- Boost background checks by closing the private sale loophole, requiring all gun owners to obtain a permit, using sale records in criminal investigations, allowing for extreme risk screenings and regulating the 3-D printing of guns.
- Keep guns out of unsafe hands by closing loopholes that allow domestic abusers to own firearms, passing federal red flag laws, raising the minimum age to own a gun to 21, subjecting all gun purchases to a 48-hour waiting period and temporarily prohibiting gun ownership for those convicted of assault or violent misdemeanors.
- Banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, requiring secure storage of firearms and prohibiting guns in K-12 schools and colleges with the exception of law enforcement.
- Address local gun violence by investing "at least" $100 million annually in local intervention programs, increasing ATF funding by $100 million annually and giving $100 million annually to public health research about gun violence.
- Holding the the gun industry accountable through legislation and appointing a "White House gun coordinator to mobilize the public to fight gun violence."
Go deeper: Michael Bloomberg on the issues, in under 500 words