Billionaire businessman Michael Bloomberg, who as New York City mayor was one of the most high-profile advocates for firearms regulation, plans to pump $50 million of his own money into a new initiative aimed at countering the electoral influence of the National Rifle Association (NRA).

Bloomberg's group, called Everytown for Gun Safety, will focus on state and local lawmakers, "corporate boards, and state and federal elections — fields of play formerly occupied almost solely by the gun lobby," according to a statement.

The initiative plans to use campaign contributions, advertising and field operations to act as a balance to organizations like the NRA that spend millions of dollars annually to back gun-rights supporters.

"This is the beginning of a major new campaign to reduce the gun violence that plagues communities across the country," Bloomberg said in a statement. "There is no question that more needs to be done to tackle this deadly problem."

Gun control advocates need to learn from the NRA, which says it has nearly 5 million members, and punish those politicians who fail to support their agenda, including Democrats, Bloomberg told The New York Times.

"They say, 'We don't care. We're going to go after you,'" he said of the NRA. He added: "We've got to make them afraid of us."

The NRA, the largest U.S. lobby group for gun rights, spent $20 million in the 2012 election cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks campaign data. Bloomberg made nearly $14 million in federal campaign contributions for gun-control candidates in the 2012 elections.