De Blasio joins Bloomberg's gun control coalition

Mayor Bill de Blasio followed in his predecessor's footsteps Thursday by joining the Mayors against Illegal Guns coalition.

De Blasio said he agreed with the work done by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg's group over the years and promised to help push the federal government to create stricter gun restriction legislation.

"We are going to force this issue on the national stage to protect New Yorkers from the illegal guns flooding into our city," de Blasio said in a statement.

The coalition helped to fund campaigns that promote gun control laws, investigations into illegal gun trafficking and other initiatives. Bloomberg said he is optimistic that de Blasio's voice will make a difference.

"Mayor de Blasio and the other new mayors who join our coalition strengthen our efforts to end the bloodshed. I look forward to working with him to change our nation's laws so we can get illegal guns off our streets," he said in a statement.