ALBANY, NY (06/27/2013)(readMedia)-- The New York State Rifle & Pistol Association would like to know why New York City taxpayer monies are being used to promote personal political agendas. First, it was discovered that Mayor Bloomberg's pet project, Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG), is being run on City government servers and administered by City government staff:

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57590581/bloomberg-gun-group-website-registered-on-nyc-government-servers/

Next, it was uncovered that City employee Christopher Kocher, who works as special counsel to the mayor's office, was sent to Nevada as a representative of MAIG to lobby the Nevada state legislature on Nevada gun control legislation:

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/loaded_mayor_gun_grab_9JbKgoeTGXiFnwVn5xxpdO

Now, an examination of New York City's FY2014 budget shows a $30,000 line item on Page 4 for New Yorkers Against Gun Violence (NYAGV), with the money directed towards "Anti-gun violence services related to employment training, job and internship placements, program development and evaluation, and organizational capacity building."

http://council.nyc.gov/downloads/pdf/budget/2014/skedc.pdf

In light of these revelations, the NYSRPA has some questions we would like answers to:

• Why does a private 501(c)(4) organization, MAIG, whose most prominent member is one of the richest people in the world, have its website run on taxpayer-funded Web servers?

• Why is a city employee acting as a lobbyist for a private organization in another state?

• Why is taxpayer money being used to fund a private 501(c)(4) organization, NYAGV, which engages in political advocacy and lobbying at the state and local level?