Jan 4, 2008 3:19 pm US/Eastern
Candidates Ignore Bloomberg's Questions On Guns
NEW YORK (AP) ―
The Republican and Democratic candidates running for president have largely ignored Mayor Michael Bloomberg's anti-gun questionnaire despite his stated desire to influence the national debate on the topic.
None answered the questionnaire that Bloomberg's anti-gun coalition released on Dec. 9 and paid $22,200 to publicize last week in full page newspaper ads in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Bloomberg spokesman Jason Post said no candidate responded by the Jan. 2 deadline; one asked for an extension, so the new deadline is Jan. 14. Post declined to say which candidate wanted more time.
Last week's newspaper ad featured a photograph of Bloomberg surrounded by several other mayors from his anti-gun coalition, above a strip of smaller headshots of all the candidates.
It asked "Where do the presidential candidates stand on illegal guns?"
The survey asks candidates to answer questions like: "Do you support increasing the maximum penalty for illegal firearms possession from 10 years to 15 years?"
It also asks if gun dealers whose licenses have been revoked for selling guns illegally should be allowed to continue selling guns in their inventory without background checks.
The coalition says it won't endorse a candidate but would publicize the candidates' responses on its Web site.
Bloomberg, who left the Republican party last year and became an independent, is said to be considering his own third-party bid for president.
On Monday, the day before the New Hampshire primary, he will meet in Oklahoma with several other mostly former elected officials from both parties.
The meeting has been described by participants as a warning to the presidential candidates that some may be prepared to back an independent candidacy.
On his radio show Friday, Bloomberg said that is not the intention of the meeting. About the declared candidates, he said he "would just like to get them to address the important issues with more specificity."
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