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The Mayors Against Illegal Guns group released the two television ads expected to hit North Carolina in the next two weeks as it ramps up the effort to require more comprehensive background checks for gun buyers.

Both ads -- "Responsible" and "Family" -- feature a bearded man in a hunting camouflage hat sitting on a pickup truck tailgate holding a gun while his family plays in the background. The man says he supports the Second Amendment but also background checks to keep criminals and the "dangerously mentally ill" can't purchase a gun. (One ad above and the other below.)

UPDATED: BLOOMBERG TO TARGET N.C. IN GUN DEBATE: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is preparing to launch a major TV ad campaign aimed at U.S. senators in swing states -- including Democrat Kay Hagan. From the NYT: "Determined to persuade Congress to act in response to that shooting, Mr. Bloomberg on Monday will begin bankrolling a $12 million national advertising campaign that focuses on senators who he believes might be persuaded to support a pending package of federal regulations to curb gun violence. The ads, in 13 states, will blanket those senators’ districts during an Easter Congressional recess that is to be followed by debate over the legislation."

TODAY AT THE STATEHOUSE: The Dix lease to the city of Raleigh hits the chopping block. The Senate convenes at 7 p.m. but won't consider the bill until Tuesday. The House convenes at 4 p.m. but no votes are expected. The Wake County delegation at 4 p.m. in room 643 of the legislative office building. (More on the meeting below.) Gov. Pat McCrory lists no public events on his schedule today.

***Good Monday morning. Thanks for reading the Dome Morning Memo -- a daily tipsheet for N.C. political news. Send tips and news to dome@newsobserver.com. Read more below.***

The Environmental Defense Fund is airing television advertisements in North Carolina to boost President Barack Obama's climate change message in the State of the Union address.

Two years ago, Republicans took control of the statehouse for the first time in 140 years and pushed an agenda that significantly shifted North Carolina to the partisan right.

Given that Republicans crafted new legislative districts to their favor and hold a campaign cash advantage, it’s likely that they will retain control of the state House and Senate. But two dozen competitive legislative races across the state – including a handful in the Triangle – will serve as a referendum on Republican rule. Full story.

More weekend political headlines:

--Wake County school board member Debra Goldman broke a week-long silence Saturday, denying both that she had an affair with a fellow board member and that she voted out of pique rather than principle on a key student assignment issue.

North Carolina is not included in the newest round of TV ads being aired by the re-election campaign of Barack Obama.

One new ad is running in Nevada, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Ohio and Virginia. A second ad is running in those states as well as New Hampshire and Wisconsin.

But the Obama campaign was still running a 60-second ad in North Carolina that featured Obama speaking into the camera.

So far this year, North Carolina has seen more than 100 TV ads in the presidential race on state broadcast channels. Here's another one from the pro-Romney super PAC Restore Our Future that we missed. It hits President Barack Obama on the economy.

Thanks to Jonathan Kappler (@jonathankappler) for flagging it after seeing it Tuesday night on WRAL.

The Democratic Governors Association appears to be conceding the N.C. governor's race to Republicans.

A DGA-funded liberal group supporting Democratic candidate Walter Dalton's is not running TV ads this week -- as hundreds of thousands of voters go to the polls -- and no commercials are scheduled to appear in the final week before the election.

A spokesman for N.C. Citizens for Progress, the group helping Dalton, said national Democrats have not abandoned the race entirely, but he acknowledged it is dark this week with no concrete plans to make future TV ad purchases. The group "is currently assessing the political landscape to determine its actions for the last two weeks of the campaign," said Michael Weisel, a Raleigh attorney with the Citizens group.

A super PAC supporting Mitt Romney on Tuesday began airing its two new TV ads in North Carolina, a sign that Republicans still believe the state is a battleground despite talk about it being written off the map.

Despite talk that the Obama campaign is beginning to see North Carolina as moving into the Romney column, the president's campaign has included the Tar Heel State in a new 60-second ad buy in key battleground states.

Republican Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler is airing a pair of TV ads that tout his work on food safety and his agency's efforts to put N.C.-grown foods in schools. The farmer's market shots are sure to make you hungry. (See them below.)