Mayor Bloomberg started his second term vowing to take on illegal guns. And as he campaigns to win a third term, he’s trying to show voters that he’s serious about his fight.

“We have to protect the people of this city today. And we’re not going to wait around for anyone else,” Bloomberg said.

The Bloomberg administration hired private investigators to go undercover at gun shows in Ohio, Nevada and Tennessee. What they found were private gun sellers more than willing to sell firearms to people saying they would have a hard time passing a background check.

Bloomberg said 19 of 30 private gun sellers sold guns to undercover buyers after they admitted they would have a hard time passing a background check.

Federal law requires a private gun seller to stop a sale if the buyer indicates that he wouldn’t pass a background check.

The mayor called on gun show sellers to research potential buyers.

“We have to close the loophole and get guns off the street. We’re not here to fight the Second Amendment,” Bloomberg said.

Bloomberg focused his attention on illegal guns, hours after he picked up the endorsement of Local 237, a Teamsters union.

Meanwhile, Democratic mayoral candidate William Thompson made a number of stops across the city and at each stop he took aim at the mayor. On Staten Island, he unveiled his economic plan.

The Bloomberg campaign quickly dismissed Thompson’s speech just as Bloomberg brushed off attacks on the school system.

As Election Day nears, the mayor is moving aggressively to make sure his record his seen in a good light.

Source: NY1