http://www.nyc.gov/html/om/html/2008a/pr249-08.html FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PR- 249-08 June 26, 2008 STATEMENT BY MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG ON SUPREME COURT RULING IN DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA V. HELLER "In just two years, 320 Democratic, Republican, and independent mayors have come together to support the common sense goal of keeping guns out of the hands of criminals. From the beginning, we have said that fighting illegal guns has nothing to do with the Second Amendment rights of Americans. Today's decision by the Supreme Court upholding those rights will benefit our coalition by finally putting to rest the ideological debates that have for too long obscured an obvious fact: criminals, who have no right to purchase or possess guns, nevertheless have easy access to them. Mayors and police chiefs have a responsibility to crack down on illegal guns and punish gun criminals, and it is encouraging that the Supreme Court recognizes the constitutionality of reasonable regulations that allow for us to carry out those responsibilities."