Former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg is under fire for a statement made at the Aspen Institute on Friday in which he sounded like he wants the government to disarm young black men.
The Aspen Times first reported Bloomberg's comments on Friday, and Twitter was soon abuzz.
During the event, moderator Jennifer Bradley, director of the Center for Urban Innovation at the Institute, asked Bloomberg how government can offer fairness to children "who have been failed."
Bloomberg answered that 95 percent of murders are among minority males between 15 and 25. Cities must get guns out of the hands of this group and keep them alive, he said.
"These kids think they’re going to get killed anyway because all their friends are getting killed," Bloomberg said. "They just don’t have any long-term focus or anything. It’s a joke to have a gun. It’s a joke to pull a trigger."
Bloomberg is founder of Mayors Against Illegal Guns and has been criticized by gun rights advocates for what they say is an attempt to infringe on the Second Amendment.
His comments at Aspen also sounded racist to many observers.
Bloomberg also talked about his opposition to marijuana legalization at the event.
"What are we going to say in 10 years when we see all these kids whose IQs are 5 and 10 points lower than they would have been?" he said. "I couldn’t feel more strongly about it, and my girlfriend says it’s no different than alcohol. It is different than alcohol. This is one of the stupider things that’s happening across our country"
Related Stories:
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.