In 2007, when New York City launched an extensive campaign aimed at making folks aware of the consequences of illegal firearms possession, Mayor Michael Bloomberg was unequivocal.

“[I]f you are convicted,” Bloomberg said, “you will serve a minimum of 3-1/2 years behind bars – no exceptions.”

Bloomberg displayed similar clarity on Monday, calling for the law to be applied as written to Giants receiver Plaxico Burress.

Described as “fuming” in media accounts, Bloomberg said Monday that Burress should be prosecuted ”to the fullest extent of the law.”

“It’s pretty hard to argue the guy didn’t have a gun and that it wasn’t loaded,” Burress Bloomberg said.  “You’ve got bullet holes in and out to show that it was there.”

As to the crystal-clear contents of the relevant statute, Bloomberg said, “[Y]ou go automatically to three-and-a-half years in the slammer.  And I don’t think that anybody should be exempt from that.  And I think it would be an outrage if we don’t prosecute to the fullest extent of the law.

“Our children are getting killed with guns on the street.  Our police officers are getting killed with guns in the hands of criminals.”

As we pointed out earlier in the day, Plaxico’s profile could make him a target for aggressive prosecution.  The stream of news accounts arising from the court proceedings will do more to deter New Yorkers from taking loaded guns into public places than any amount of public service announcements.

Bloomberg addressed the role of Burress’ notoriety in the case, saying that ”people who live in the public domain” should be held responsible for their conduct because “they are the role models for our kids.”  Not prosecuting those who “make their living because of their visibility” would, in Bloomberg’s opinion, make “a sham, a mockery of the law.”

Bloomberg also had choice words for the hospital that failed to alert police that the victim of a gunshot wound was receiving treatment.

“It’s a misdemeanor, it’s a chargeable offense, and I think that the district attorney should certainly go after the management of this hospital,” Bloomberg said.  “This is a world-class hospital in a city where we all know what goes on in the streets of our city and where all should be working to get guns off the street.”

And despite prior reports that the Giants had alerted police to the shooting, Bloomberg said that authorities learned of it only through the media, and that the team didn’t report the incident.

“The hospital didn’t call and the Giants didn’t call,” Bloomberg said.  “And the Giants should have picked up the phone right away as good corporate citizens.  I don’t care whether [there is] the legal responsibility for them to do it.”

Man, a politican who doesn’t mince words and tells it like he sees it.  That’s roughly as rare as seeing a polar bear sunbathing in South Florida.