Bloomberg gun group to grade lawmakers

Mayors Against Illegal Guns will use the NRA's tactic of giving lawmakers letter grades on gun control

Published April 9, 2013 1:04PM (EDT)

Michael Bloomberg's pro-gun control nonprofit, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, is borrowing the NRA's system of handing out letter-grades to lawmakers, except it will rank them on how strong they are on gun control.

“For decades, the NRA has done an admirable job of tracking to minute detail how members of Congress stand on gun bills. We’ve simply decided to do the same,” said the group's director, Mark Glaze.

The Washington Post reports:

The group’s new ratings system would produce a scorecard for senators and representatives that could serve as a guide for voters as well as campaign donors heading into the 2014 midterm elections and in future campaign cycles.

Glaze outlined a sophisticated algorithm that would weigh lawmakers’ votes on gun bills as well as their public statements and other actions to issue overall letter grades.

The group is also pushing out an ad that will air in Pennsylvania, Republican Sen. Pat Toomey's state, as he reportedly works with Dem Sen. Joe Manchin, W. Va., to make a bipartisan deal on universal background checks and other gun control measures.


By Jillian Rayfield

Jillian Rayfield is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on politics. Follow her on Twitter at @jillrayfield or email her at jrayfield@salon.com.

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Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Gun Control Michael Bloomberg New York City Nra Second Amendment