Bloomberg Pushes Virginia to Close 'Gun-Show Loophole'

April 13, 2009 -- New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg launched a television ad Monday pressuring Virginia's Republican candidate for governor to get behind closing the commonwealth's gun-show loophole.

"This has nothing to do with the Second Amendment. This is not the right to hunt. It's not the right to bear arms. Plain and simple it is to enforce a federal law that says you can't sell guns to criminals," said Bloomberg in Crystal City, Va.

The television commercial, which is timed to coincide with the second anniversary of the Virginia Tech shootings, on April 16, features Omar Samaha, whose sister, Reema, was one of 32 people killed in the massacre. As featured Friday on ABC News' "20/20", Samaha recently attended a Virginia gun show and easily acquired 10 guns, including a Glock similar to the one that killed his sister, with no background check, in less than an hour.

In the 30-second ad, which begins airing Tuesday and will air statewide in Virginia on broadcast and cable television, former state Attorney General Bob McDonnell is hammered for not wanting to prohibit private sellers at gun shows from selling guns without background checks.

"I know that closing the loophole won't bring Reema back, but the question is whose sister is next?" asks Samaha in the ad. "Ask Bob McDonnell why he's protecting criminals instead of protecting us?"

Watch the ad here: http://www.americansunitedforsafestreets.org/

McDonnell campaign manager Phil Cox responded to Bloomberg's ad by issuing a statement, saying, "Bob McDonnell supports background checks for all sales made by licensed gun dealers at Virginia gun shows."

Samaha fired back with a written statement accusing McDonnell of attempting to confuse voters.

"Bob McDonnell is attempting to mislead Virginians into believing that he supports background checks for gun sales," said Samaha. "But his statement only refers to 'licensed' gun dealers who are already mandated by federal law to conduct background checks."