ST. PAUL, Minn. - As the midterm election rapidly approaches, Michael Bloomberg wants voters to keep gun violence prevention on their minds as they head to the polls.
The billionaire and former New York mayor rallied at W.A. Frost restaurant with local volunteers and leaders of Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action.
"They're sending a message to elected officials: vote for common sense gun laws or we are going to throw you out!" Bloomberg declared, in a thumbnail summary of the group's activism around the nation.
Bloomberg's trip as already planned prior to Saturday's attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, but it was fresh on the minds of those in attendance.
Universal background checks, covering firearms transactions at gun shows and online, is a major goal of Bloomberg's organization and other groups such as Protect Minnesota.
The NRA and most Republican lawmaker oppose universal background checks, saying that it will do nothing to prevent the mass shootings that have plagued the nation and reignited the gun violence debate.
They often describe it as an unnecessary burden on law-abiding gun owners who may want to do something as innocent as give an heirloom gun to a family member. They believe the best response to mass shootings is to harden potential soft targets, in other words fortify school buildings, places of worship, malls, stadiums and theaters.
Bloomberg asserted Republicans wouldn't suffer any adverse consequences with voters if they agreed to universal background checks.
"If you survey NRA members with guns, you'll find 80 to 90 percent will says, 'Of course, I don't want to sell guns to people with psychiatric problems or minors with criminal records'."
He was flanked by Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter III, who aren't on the ballot this year but support the movement.
"I'm tired of hearing us say 'Thoughts and prayers, thoughts and prayers, thoughts and prayers'," Carter told the crowd. "Let me tell you. I am thinking and praying about November 6th, knowing we can take action!"
Mayor Frey, who is Jewish, said someone asked him if he was shocked by the synagogue attack.
"No, I'm not shocked!" Frey remarked. "It's difficult, it's traumatizing, it's sad, it shouldn't happen again, but no, it's not shocking.This needs to not be the status quo or the going rate."
None of the speakers the act of gun violence that happened two years ago inside the same historic building where W.A. Frost is located. In April of 2016 a 23-year-old law clerk, Chase Passauer, was shot six times as he sat in a chair in a law office on the second floor of the Dacotah Building, above the restaurant.
A 37-year-old man, Ryan D. Petersen was angry at an attorney who worked in same office, and opened fire on Passauer during what he admitted was a "fit of rage." Petersen was sentenced to life in prison.
Bloomberg founded Mayors Against Illegal Guns in 2006, and that group merged with Moms Demand Action in 2014 to form Everytown for Gun Safety. The organization has also lobbied to repeal bans on research into gun ownership data and the public health impacts of firearms.
Moms Demand Action members have made their presence known at the State Capitol, at times lining the entrances to the House and Senate and filling the spectator sections of hearings on gun bills. They've also organized marches and rallies to draw attention to the issue of gun violence.
Bloomberg's appearance in Minnesota drew this response from Rob Doar of the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus:
"With the millions of dollars he's spending to try to influence this election, to push his gun control agenda from out of state, it's not surprising that he's checking in on his investment."