Bloomberg’s Group Exploits Columbine Massacre and Lies

New York mayor Bloomberg’s group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, has begun to shamelessly run ads exploiting the Columbine massacre. Video from surveillance cameras at the site of the crime is used to convince viewers to call their senators to close the so called gun show loophole. Exploiting the massacre for political purposes is disgusting enough. On top of Bloomberg’s pornographic exploitation of people’s emotions, the ad’s basic premise is a lie.

Bloomberg’s propaganda claims that four of the guns used in the killings were bought at gun shows. This is the kernel of truth at the center of the lie. The murderers, Harris and Klebold didn’t buy weapons at a gun show, as the ad implies. They acquired four weapons from two friends who bought weapons at gun shows. Despite a lack of background check, authorities were able to trace who sold the weapons to Harris and Klebold.

Two of the weapons, 12-gauge shotguns, were modified by the murders by sawing the barrels and butts to make them easier to conceal, a clear violation of law. They also carried pistols, even though state law prohibited minors from possessing handguns. Harris and Klebold committed numerous felonies even before the massacre began.

Bloomberg’s group wants you to believe the Columbine massacre wouldn’t have occurred if gun shows were illegal. This is pure bunk. Besides illegal firearms, Harris and Klebold built 99 improvised explosive devices with instructions from the Internet. They were clearly dedicated to mass murder, no matter what the method.

To exploit a national tragedy and open the wounds of the survivors for a crass political cause is unconscionable. But no one claims Mayor Bloomberg has a conscience.