New name, same lie: Bloomberg gun control group loses board member after misrepresenting group's intentions

According to former members, as well as internal emails obtained by Buckeye Firearms Association and MediaTrackers.org, anti-gun-rights billionaire Michael Bloomberg's now-defunct gun control group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG), sought to gain members by intentionally deceiving them on what the group was actually all about. Many mayors, both here in Ohio and across the nation, dropped out of the group once they were so informed.

It appears that Bloomberg is employing similar shady tactics at his latest gun control group, recently rebranded as "Everytown for Gun Safety."

The New York Times is reporting that Tom Ridge, the Homeland Security secretary under President George W. Bush, has unexpectedly resigned from the board of Michael R. Bloomberg’s new gun control effort, citing his discomfort with some of the political work the group has been planning.

Mr. Ridge’s affiliation with the group, which Mr. Bloomberg has pledged to give at least $50 million this year alone, was considered a coup for Mr. Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York, because of Mr. Ridge’s Republican credentials.

But Mr. Ridge has notified Mr. Bloomberg’s group, Everytown for Gun Safety, that he could not keep his commitment.

“When I signed on as an adviser to Everytown, I looked forward to a thoughtful and provocative discussion about the toll gun violence takes on Americans,” Mr. Ridge said through a spokesman. “After consultation with Everytown, I have decided that I am uncomfortable with their expected electoral work.”

Given Ridge's decision, and in keeping with the fact that MAIG boasted almost exclusively Democrats as members in Ohio, perhaps a better name for Bloomberg's rebranded gun control group would have been "EveryDemocrat for Gun Control."

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary, BFA PAC Vice Chairman, and an NRA-certified firearms instructor.