In an attempt to justify his approach to policing New York City, Mayor Bloomberg took occasion to defend his full-throated approach to making us safe–“stop and frisk” and policing guns (inside and outside of New York, that is). Bloomberg opposes a law that would create an Independent Inspector General to oversee the behavior of the police department.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg unleashed a 45 minute tirade in defense of the police tactic, accusing those who support legislation for an Independent Inspector General of playing politics, and panning the media for turning a blind eye to murders in minority communities.

“Make no mistake, this is a dangerous piece of legislation and anyone who supports it is courting disaster,” Bloomberg said, addressing a crowd of dozens of uniformed police officers on the second floor of police headquarters.

“If you end street stops looking for guns, there will be more guns on the streets, and more people will be killed. It’s that simple.”

Constitution Schmonstitution (2nd and 4th amendment).

This comment in particular really pissed the civil rights community off:

In Washington, some elected officials don’t have the courage to stand up against special interest groups on the right and pass common-sense gun laws. And in New York City, some don’t have the courage to stand up to special interests on the left and support common-sense policing tactics like stop-and-frisk. We don’t need extremists on the left or the right running our police department, whether its the NRA or the NYCLU.

I often beat up on Bloomberg for his views on the Second Amendment and other rights, but the ACLU has rightfully taken him to task for his views on stop-and-frisk and the Fourth Amendment. These are two sides of the same statist coin. He is entirely consistent with his views on freedom. He has no concern for any forms of individual liberty–both liberal and conservative–that gets in the way of his efforts at structuring society according to his vision–whether that is keeping people safe from crime, cigarettes, or trans fats. Nothing should stop his lofty aspiration.

I am grateful that he will only in power for a short time longer, though he may be worse out of office with more time on his hands.

As expected, Think Progress objects to comparing the NRA and ACLU.