South Carolina mayor stumps for Bloomberg in Mississippi

Steve Benjamin, the Mayor of Columbia, South Carolina, will be in Mississippi today campaigning for Democratic Presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg.

Benjamin is a National Campaign Co-Chair for the Bloomberg campaign.  He will speak at a lunch event in Southaven as part of the campaign’s #GetItDoneExpress.

In announcing the mayor’s appearance in Mississippi, the state campaign arm @MSforMike on Twitter used this photo ad where Benjamin talks about gun violence.

The mayor has been an outspoken advocate for efforts to rein in gun violence, going so far as to call the situation in his city a “public health crisis.”

ABC Columbia reports that in September 2019, Benjamin and the City Council passed two gun control ordinances. One of the ordinances would prevent people from possessing a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school.  The other would allow guns to be taken away from someone considered an “extreme risk.”

In 2017, the Columbia City Council banned the use of bump stocks and trigger cranks. Mayor Benjamin thanked President Trump for his support of similar federal regulations.

“I’m thankful that the City of Columbia has been able to lead the way in banning bump stocks in America and I thank the President for this positive move forward,” Benjamin told The State.

Bloomberg released his gun control plan in December 2019 calling for ‘red flag screenings,’ stronger background checks and permit requirements.

Politico reported on the campaign’s roll out of the gun control plan, noting:

“A spokesman said Bloomberg “is the only candidate in the race who has taken on the NRA and won, time and again,” referring to his personal expenditure of several hundred million dollars on the issue. In 2018, Bloomberg invested $112 million on 24 political candidates who supported gun control measures and won 21 of those races.”

Today’s event in Mississippi is located at Southern Elegance Events, 654 Church Rd E. in Southaven.