Gun control laws fail to keep Time Square terror-bomber from purchasing a gun, yet oblivious Bloomberg demands more

By Chad D. Baus

Judging by the events of the past week, it's a good thing for billionaire New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg that he uses taxpayer funds to hire others to carry guns for his protection (even when he's visiting his mansion in the "no guns" country of Bermuda). If he carried a gun himself, he'd constantly be shooting himself in the foot.

Take for example Bloomberg's reaction when news that a car bomb had been activated, but failed to detonate in the middle of Times Square. The part-time Republican, who heads the gun control front group run Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG), quickly ran to the CBS Evening News and speculated before a national audience that the bomb could have been placed by "somebody with a political agenda who doesn't like the health care bill or something."

The following day, the world learned that the terror-bomb suspect was a Pakistani-born naturalized American named Faisal Shahzad. (That sound you just heard was Bloomberg firing a round into his own foot.)

Rather than apologize for having profiled a whole group of patriotic Americans, Bloomberg instead quickly announced that he "will not tolerate any bias" or backlash against Muslim Americans following the attempted attack, noting that "a few bad apples" exist among all cultural ethnicities. (That sound you just heard was Bloomberg firing a second round into his own foot.) I guarantee he'd never have uttered that "few bad apples" line had the suspect turned out to be a 40 year-old white TEA party member from Topeka.

The third self-inflicted wound came after authorities disclosed that a firearm was recovered from Shahzad's car – left parked at Kennedy International Airport when he was apprehended trying to flee the country.

Less than 24 hours later, Bloomberg testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, urging them to pass legislation to make it more difficult for suspected terrorists to buy guns.

The problem? Faisal Shahzad purchased his Kel-Tec rifle in Connecticut after passing both a criminal background check and a 14-day waiting period - gun control measures that gun control groups like Bloomberg's MAIG claim will stop criminals from obtaining guns.

From the Associated Press:

Shelton police said Shahzad legally bought a Kel-Tec rifle from a dealer after passing a criminal background check and a 14-day waiting period.

Meanwhile, through MAIG, Bloomberg claims that the solution to the problem of criminals obtaining guns is to make everyone that wishes to purchase a gun at a gun show - even from a private seller - go through the exact same background check that Shahzad went through. (Bang, bang and bang again!)

Ask yourself - what presented more danger to the citizens of New York - the rifle in the trunk of his car, or the bomb? Clearly, the terrorist knew the answer. I'm willing to bet Bloomberg does as well, and yet he didn't run off to testify in front of the Senate committee about the need to prevent home-grown terrorists from purchasing large quantities of gasoline, fireworks, fertilizer, propane tanks or alarm clocks...or the car he put them all in, for that matter. You'll see no press releases from the mayor decrying the "used car loophole," nor will you see anyone attempting to sue Nissan for pushing their product to anyone for their greedy profit without regard to the damage their product will cause society when a terrorist decides to load it with explosives.

No, for Bloomberg, this still isn't about stopping terrorists. It's all about curbing the rights of law-abiding gun owners.

So the next time you hear the sound of gunfire, it's likely just Mayor Bloomberg putting another round into foot as he talks about the nonexistent "gun show loophole" or his newly-imagined "terrorist loophole.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Vice Chairman.