In a four-month New York City investigation into gun shows in three states, in almost three out of four instances, undercover investigators were able to purchase guns illegally, says the New York Times. “What you saw was a willful disregard of the law, and you saw it again and again and again,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
The sting operation is the latest effort to take on what the Bloomberg administration and the New York Police Department maintain is a threat to the safety of city residents: the flow into New York of illegally obtained guns used to commit crimes. “Anyone who knowingly violates any local, state or federal law will get no sympathy from the National Rifle Association,” said NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam. “But the mayor seems to be more intent on holding press conferences than doing something substantive to go after those who break the law, and I think what is clear is what his priorities are: media first, justice later.”