Christopher Dixon

Michael Bloomberg is up to his old tricks.

Except this time, instead of attempting to force his will on residents of New York alone, the billionaire hopes to have his way across the entire United States, Missourians included.

For those unfamiliar with the antics of the former mayor of New York City, he is widely known for banning smoking in public places (a good thing since that affects the health of others) and trying to limit the size of a soda someone can purchase for personal consumption (none of his business since it affects only the health of the individual consumer).

Last week, Bloomberg pledged a minimum of $50 million of his personal fortune to combat the National Rifle Association in its advertising and lobbying efforts.

The hot-button issue of gun control continues to hit particularly close to home. In addition to school shootings that are becoming increasingly common, we recently saw the senseless and apparently hate-motivated killing of three innocent people in Overland Park, Kan. The suspect is Frazier Glenn Miller, an admitted racist who had never indicated his propensity toward violence.

In other words, his alleged actions may have been very difficult to see coming.

When tragedies like this occur — with terribly increasing frequency — the tendency is to blame the gun, rather than the intent or the motive behind the attack. It's similar to blaming an ink pen for the written word.

The recent mass stabbing in the Pittsburgh area was horrific, and deadly stabbings in China are also up significantly. While guns arguably cause more damage than knives, it's the underlying causes that need to be addressed. The "why" behind a violent crime is much more significant than the "how." Violent murders go all the way back to when Cain killed Abel — presumably with a rock.

But, like others seeking to greatly limit our constitutional rights, Bloomberg misses the point. So, he is now committed to outspending the NRA with heart-wrenching advertisements about the evils of guns.

It's his right to do so. But, unlike the NRA, which has a few million members, Bloomberg is just one person. And similar to his campaign against tobacco and soda, he seems quite committed to his anti-gun agenda.

Fortunately, he can only do so much. Unless she decides not to run, Hillary Clinton will be our next president. (There are no other viable candidates on the left or the right.) So a fair amount of what happens with gun legislation in years to come will be affected by Clinton and members of Congress.

But Bloomberg seems committed to convincing us all that guns are wicked.

No sane person — gun owner or otherwise — would argue against background checks for gun owners. But let's hope the voice of one extremist does not drown out and suppress the constitutional rights of millions.

Christopher Dixon lives in Springfield. He may be reached atwww.electiopublishing.com

.