WASHINGTON, March 10 (UPI) -- Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City said he is optimistic that there is support for responsible gun laws among both Republican and Democratic congressmen.
"There's an awful lot of momentum among both Republican and Democratic rural and urban and suburban congressmen and senators ... to do something that will protect the public," Bloomberg said on CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday.
Bloomberg said there should be a new federal law to require background checks in gun shows and Internet sales.
"I think the FBI last year turned down something like 80,000 requests to buy a gun because people either were minors, had criminal records, substance abuse problems or mental problems. And that's what federal law prohibits gun dealers from selling to, those people, and that's exactly what we should expand," he said.
While background checks do seem to be a plausible option, lawmakers are not on the same page when it comes to the ban on assault weapons proposal. But Bloomberg said background checks, and not assault weapons, are at the heart of the issue.
"The truth of the matter is only about 400 people a year get killed with assault weapons or high-capacity magazines," he said. "That is 400 too many, and they're all tragedies, but you compare that to handguns, pistols, this year, are going to kill 12,000 Americans. And 19,000 Americans are going to commit suicide with handguns. And there are 14 states that have background checks required for all sales."
