Bloomberg Group Asks Politicians Where They Stand on Guns

Michael Bloomberg’s gun control group began surveying congressmen and candidates on their stances on key gun issues Monday, as it looks to pressure lawmakers in the run-up to the 2014 midterm elections.

Everytown for Gun Safety, which is seeking to counter the influence of the National Rifle Association, is providing politicians with a 10-point questionnaire that asks about stances on policies like background checks for gun buyers and limiting the sale of high-capacity ammunition magazines.

The group plans to use the survey to help rally gun control supporters behind or against candidates in the midterm elections, much as the NRA does with its own respective rating system.

Bloomberg, the billionaire former New York City mayor, has put some $50 million into the gun control movement and has said he would contribute more than double the $20 million the NRA spends each year on political campaigns, according to the Washington Post.

A spokesman for the NRA, Andrew Arulanandam, said it would be an uphill battle for Everytown.

“Money cannot buy the hearts and minds of the American people when it comes to the Second Amendment,” he said to the Washington Post. “Michael Bloomberg is just the latest incarnation of a long line of anti-freedom billionaires who’ve tried to take on the National Rifle Association.”