NEW YORK, NY July 17, 2007 —Mayor Bloomberg's campaign against illegal handguns, may have taken a hit in Washington this month but today the mayor showed no signs of giving up. WNYC's Bob Hennelly has more.

REPORTER: Mayor Bloomberg is using an ad campaign as his latest tactic to reduce illegal handguns use. It will remind New Yorkers about a new state law that requires a mandatory 3 and a half year minimum sentence for being caught with a loaded handgun. Bloomberg invoked the murder of Police Officer Russell Timshenko but said illegal guns also take a terrible toll on civilians.

BLOOMBERG: This year I hope we will have a record low number of murders, but that is still going to be ten a week and two thirds of those are committed with illegal guns."

REPORTER: In Washington, even with the Democrats in charge in Congress, the NRA beat back Bloomberg's efforts to get local law enforcement access to federal data they need to investigate gun dealers. For WNYC I am Bob Hennelly