Back in January we found ourselves a bit confused by a group of Virginian gun owners who were protesting New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s presence in D.C. Bloomberg was heading up a meeting of mayors working to fight illegal firearms, which seemed to us like a relatively benign cause. Nobody wants crooks to have guns, right?

But after reading today and yesterday’s Post stories about Bloomberg’s latest anti-gun efforts, we can kind of understand why some Virginians are upset with the guy. That’s because Bloomberg is no longer just sharing tips on how to keep guns from criminals or rallying support for gun control bills — he’s actually been sending private investigators to run sting operations in Virginia gun shops.

The stings center on “straw purchases,” which involve one party filling out background-check paperwork and another paying for and taking possession of the firearm. Bloomberg is convinced that Virginia’s relatively lax gun laws are contributing to violence in his fair city, so he’s taken matters into his own hands.

Being the pointy-headed liberals that I and no doubt several other DCist staff members are, we’re generally amenable to reasonable restrictions on the sale of firearms. And, as the tragedy in Blacksburg proved, Virginia’s system for doling out firepower could clearly stand to be improved. But Bloomberg’s gun control carpetbaggery seems like a bit much.

But don’t worry, righteously-indignant red-staters: the Virginia assembly has passed a bill mandating that Bloomberg’s sting operations not occur without a Virginia law enforcement official on hand. That measure will go into effect on July 1, and a Bloomberg spokesman says his boss will abide by it.

Image by Flickr user theimacguy, used under a Creative Commons license