New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg gave the commencement address at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill yesterday, during which he explained to the audience how same-sex marriage won't instantly lead to the end of moral society as we know it.

Last week, as you may recall, North Carolina voters passed a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in the state. So, you might think a northern mayor heading south to lecture people on gay marriage wouldn't be met with the warmest reception. You'd be wrong -- the crowd roared when Bloomberg bashed the new law.

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Weed fans and several elected officials will come together on Saturday to protest what they say are racist marijuana enforcement practices by Mayor Mike Bloomberg, the NYPD, and police Commissioner Ray Kelly.

Officials from the Drug Policy Alliance say the allegedly racist practices of selective enforcement has created a "Tale of Two Cities" -- where white people get away scot free when caught with weed and black people are rounded up and thrown in jail.

"One New York City is for white people, where marijuana possession was decriminalized in 1977, people are seldom stopped and frisked, and mothers do not fear that their teenagers will be rounded up by the police," the group says. "The other New York City is for people of color, where hundreds of thousands of people are stopped even though most were entirely innocent of any wrongdoing, tens of thousands are illegally searched, falsely charged, arrested and incarcerated for marijuana possession (even though it's not a crime in New York), and mothers are afraid that the police may unlawfully arrest their young people."

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Will Mike make like Rudy?

That question remains unanswered after John McCain met yesterday with Mayor Michael Bloomberg to convince the pol to back Mitt Romney in the presidential election.

McCain called on Mike shortly after Rudy Giuliani, America's Mayor/frenemy extraordinaire, announced his support of Romney on "FOX & Friends" on Monday morning.

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As the trial nears for the Trayvon Martin case, a firestorm of debate has spread across the nation surrounding the centerpiece "Stand Your Ground" law -- the legislation George Zimmerman has used as his defense. And now, the Hozziner is beginning to feel the flames from the nation's go-to gun-toters: the ragin' cagin' National Rifle Association.

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Mike Bloomberg wants to tell people in places like Texas what to do with their guns. Good luck with that, bub!

Despite his authority extending no further than the five boroughs of New York City, Mayor Mike Bloomberg is once again trying to dictate gun-control policies for the entire country.

In response to the shooting of Trayvon Martin -- an unarmed Florida teen gunned down by a trigger-happy wannabe cop earlier this year -- the mayor announced this afternoon that he and national African-American leaders are on a crusade to repeal Florida-esque "Shoot First" laws that currently are on the books in 25 states.

"Shoot First" laws -- or "Stand Your Ground" as it's known in Florida -- basically give gun owners carte blanche to shoot someone if they feel their life is in danger. If "life in danger" sounds vague, that's because it is -- and that's the problem with these types of laws.

We don't take issue with the mayor's desire to do away with "Shoot First" laws, it just seems as though it's not his job -- as the mayor of New York -- to tell other states what to do (yes, the announcement was made in an official press release from the mayor's office).

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As you've probably heard, four New York City police officers were shot over the weekend during a shootout with a man in Brooklyn. As you've also probably heard, Mayor Mike Bloomberg hates guns -- and he's using the shootout as the latest anecdote to illustrate his point that gun laws need to be tougher.

Keep in mind, this is the same mayor who told the Voice last month that having an illegal gun in New York isn't as bad if you're from out of state -- after publicly encouraging authorities to throw the book at former New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress for having an unregistered gun, of course. More on that here.

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Because there's no better way to start off your April Fools' morning than with a video of our venerable mayor singing tunelessly alongside a Jonas brother: here you go. It's footage from last night's Inner Circle Show, which we previewed yesterday. Alongside current How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying stars Nick Jonas and Beau Bridges, Mayor Bloomberg sang, danced and even spoke in Spanish. The show's "Brotherhood of Man" number became about the "brotherhood of Mike." Watch after the jump.

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Plaxico Burress: nearly two years in prison for possession of illegal gun. Former marine Ryan Jerome: 10 hours of community service -- thanks to a sensible plea deal and a rational judge.

​Last week, we told you about a former United States marine who was sentenced to 10 hours of community service for possessing a gun that wasn't registered in New York state.

We noted that Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who's led the charge in calling for stricter gun laws across the country (despite his jurisdiction extending no further than the five boroughs, the mayor's taken it upon himself to investigate gun shows...in Arizona), hadn't made a peep about the seemingly light sentence for the marine -- which seemed a little strange considering how vocal he was about wanting to throw the book at former New York Giants receiver Plaxico Burress when he was busted with an illegal gun.

We asked the mayor's office for comment on the slap on the wrist former marine Ryan Jerome received last week. We were ignored. Now, however, Bloomberg's offered us a response -- and it doesn't quite jibe with comments the mayor made when Burress first got popped (after famously shooting himself in the leg) in 2008.

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​New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg yesterday said at a press conference that stricter gun laws could have prevented the death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Florida teen killed last month by a wannabe cop/neighborhood watch volunteer.

"Your heart just has to go out to the parents," Bloomberg said at a press conference yesterday morning in Brooklyn. "I guess you pray for the deceased, but this really struck a nerve with a lot of people across the country. I think what you see here and we should be perfectly clear about this: The gun lobby is writing our nation's gun laws."

"It's a disgrace," Bloomberg added. "They write them in Washington, they write them in state capitals.  And the result is that our children are being killed, our police officers are being killed, you and I and are families are in danger, in greater danger than we should be."

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​Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg just issued a joint publicity stunt press release announcing that they will be donating $72,000 to a Hispanic advocacy group to replace the donation two teacher's unions yanked from the organization in protest of Cuomo's pension reform bill.

Why this needed to be announced in a press release is beyond us. The teachers unions were pretty mystified, too.

When we called New York State United Teachers, one of the two unions Cuomo and Bloomberg call out in their press release, they were shocked to hear the elected officials actually put out a press release to make such an announcement.

"There's actually a press release," Harriet Juron, a spokeswoman for the organization, tells the Voice. "From the governor's office? Oh, for Pete's sake!"


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