Written by Michael Palomba
On January 5, Democratic presidential candidate and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg stopped in San Diego for the first time during his campaign.
The main thing on his agenda during his time here was meeting with veterans and gun control supporters. He began his campaign stop by touring a veteran-owned software engineering and design company Fuse Integration.
Two days prior to his visit, Bloomberg released his “Plan to Strengthen Economic Security for Veterans and Military Families.”
Some aspects of the plan include:
- Creating a central repository of the skills required for a military position and the most common civilian jobs that are related.
- Educating companies to better understand the unique skills that veterans bring to the workforce, including the value in including veterans as part of their diversity-and-inclusion efforts.
- Calling for the collection of data and developing systems to better evaluate the needs of veterans in order to inform and prioritize future employment support services.
- Offering credentialing services and support throughout a veteran’s entire career.
Later that day, Bloomberg met with gun control supporters including San Diegans for Gun Violence Prevention founder and San Diego City Council District 7 candidate Wendy Wheatcroft. Gun control is a central issue of Bloomberg’s campaign and he has introduced a plethora of proposals to restrict the public’s access to firearms.
.@MomsDemand action and so do I. Today, I met with mothers from all over California to hear their views on the scourge of gun violence in our communities. Together, we are taking the fight to the NRA and the gun industry and tackling this crisis head on. pic.twitter.com/fXDc1nVdwp
— Mike Bloomberg (@MikeBloomberg) January 5, 2020
His gun control policies include:
- Creating an effective background check system so no one can purchase a gun without passing a completed background check.
- Closing the “boyfriend loophole” which allows domestic abusers to have guns, despite criminal convictions or restraining orders, because they are not married to their victims.
- Requiring gun buyers to be at least 21 years old to buy handguns and semi-automatic rifles and shotguns.
- Setting a temporary bar on gun possession by assault and other violent misdemeanor offenders.
- Reinstating the federal ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
- Banning all guns in elementary and secondary schools, colleges, and universities, except for law enforcement.
- Funding at least $100 million annually for local violence intervention programs.
- Increasing funding for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives by up to $100 million annually so it is able to police the gun industry more effectively.
- Requiring all gun buyers to wait at least 48 hours before any firearm purchase.
- Requiring all gun owners to report to police if their firearms have been lost or stolen, within three days after they know or should know that their guns are missing.
Bloomberg has spent over $30 million on advertisements to “defeat Donald Trump and rebuild America.” However, it hasn’t helped him much. As of December 18, Reuters reported that only five percent of Democrat-leaning voters supported him. He also recently spent $10 million for 60 seconds of Superbowl advertisements.
It’s likely that Bloomberg will continue to invest an inordinate amount of time and money into his floundering campaign. However, it’s unlikely that any of this will boost him in the polls in any meaningful way. After all, he failed to qualify for yet another Democratic presidential debate, showing just how much his campaign is struggling.
