After months of complaining about the federal government’s failure to crack down on illegal guns, Mayor Bloomberg brought together 14 Democratic mayors from around the country to strategize on stemming the flow of firearms.

Mr. Bloomberg, a Republican, and the other mayors criticized Congress, saying it placates the gun industry, and pledged to pursue litigation and legislation to target “irresponsible” gun dealers.

“The days of waiting for Congress to act are over,” Mr. Bloomberg told reporters on the lawn of Gracie Mansion during an afternoon news conference.

As the leader of the coalition, Mr. Bloomberg has thrust himself into the national spotlight just as observers are speculating that the billionaire businessman might run for president after leaving City Hall.

During an interview yesterday, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer asked Mr. Bloomberg whether he wanted to run for president. Mr. Bloomberg responded by saying he was mayor of New York through 2009. He did not rule out a run.

While Mr. Bloomberg has made cracking down on illegal guns and gun trafficking a central tenet of his second term, he has encountered staunch resistance from his fellow Republicans in Congress.

In October, Congress passed a law shielding gun manufacturers and dealers from liability when their guns are used in crimes. It is considering legislation to prohibit cities and individuals from obtaining information from a national database that traces guns for use in civil cases, which would be helpful in cases against dealers.

“You think, ‘How could Congress consider that kind of legislation,” the mayor of Providence, R.I., David Cicilline, said. “It’s unimaginable.”

Even with the recent flurry of activity, mayors have limited say over the country’s gun laws and some analysts doubt that the new coalition will make much of a difference. In New York, the majority of the guns used in crimes come into the city on the so-called Iron Pipeline, or Interstate-95, from states like Virginia, Georgia, Ohio, and Florida, where guns laws are not as restrictive.

A law professor at George Mason University, Michael Krauss, said Mr. Bloomberg may be “playing with fire.”

“There are millions of gun owners in this country,” Mr. Krauss said. “If you are fighting this fight alone, nobody really notices. But once it spreads and it’s contrary to popular will, it is much more likely to be repressed.”

Mr. Bloomberg and his co-host yesterday, the mayor of Boston, Thomas Menino, said the coalition is not taking issue with the Second Amendment – only with illegal guns.

“Thirty thousand individuals are killed every year through gun violence,” Mr. Menino said.

The coalition – which includes mayors from Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Dallas, Trenton, N.J., and a number of other cities – signed a six-point resolution.

It includes fighting for severe punishments for possession of illegal guns, targeting gun dealers who knowingly sell to criminals, developing technology to trace illegal guns, and coordinating on lawsuits and legislation. The group said it will meet again this year and will try to bring membership up to 50 mayors.

Yet with at least four of the states represented yesterday having more relaxed gun laws, it seems unlikely that mayors in those cities will be able to override their state legislatures.

Making their case even more challenging is that the 36 states with the most lenient gun laws have murder and violent crime rates that are much lower on average than the rest of the nation, according to the FBI. In addition, violent gun crimes have declined in recent years even as many states have become friendlier to gun owners.

Although Mr. Bloomberg has become a hero to gun control advocates, others say his efforts are hurting law-abiding citizens.

“Every time you pass a gun control law, the only people that are going to abide by these laws are law-abiding citizens,” a spokesman for the National Rifle Association, Andrew Arulanandam, said.

The summit is just one of dozens of anti-gun efforts pursued in the state since New York passed the Sullivan Act in 1911. That law, which makes New York’s gun rules among the most restrictive in the nation, requires gun owners to have a permit for any gun small enough to be concealed.

Others gun initiatives have stalled. In 2001, Governor Pataki announced a program that called for the formation of a Special Weapons Interdiction Field Team, an elite police. It never was formed. Nevertheless, Mr. Bloomberg said the coalition would use every tool at its disposal so that calls wouldn’t have to be made to the relatives of gun violence victims.

“What do you say to the spouses, the parents, the children?” he said. “That we didn’t have the courage to stand up and do something about it?”