'I Have Earned My Place in Heaven, It's Not Even Close,' Says Billionaire and Former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg
If he were to die anytime soon and discover that God exists, billionaire and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is confident that he will go to heaven.
"I am telling you if there is a God, when I get to heaven I'm not stopping to be interviewed. I am heading straight in. I have earned my place in heaven. It's not even close," said Bloomberg with a grin in a recent New York Times interview on his plan to pump $50 million in a grassroots network to challenge the National Rifle Association.
While he may have been facetious about heaven, Bloomberg is taking his fight with the NRA seriously.
"They say, 'We don't care. We're going to go after you,'" he said, speaking about the NRA. "'If you don't vote with us, we're going to go after your kids and your grandkids and your great-grandkids. And we're never going to stop.'"
"We've got to make them afraid of us," he added.
The former New York City mayor will be targeting women, particularly mothers, to buy into his cause. He also plans to restructure gun control groups that he currently funds — Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America — and merge them into one group, called Everytown for Gun Safety.
His campaign will focus on expanding the background check system for gun buyers at state and national levels.
While Bloomberg wants to invoke fear among gun rights advocates, so far they are not concerned about his announcement.
Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, said Bloomberg is just wasting his money.
"He's got the money to waste," said Pratt. "So I guess he's free to do so. But frankly, I think he's going to find out why his side keeps losing."
