ARS PAC Endorses Maggie Hassan for U.S. Senate, Launches New Ad to Hold Senator Kelly Ayotte Accountable for Votes to Protect Gun Background Check Loopholes
May 25, 2016 – The national gun violence prevention organization Americans for Responsible Solutions PAC (ARS PAC) announced today its endorsement of candidate for U.S. Senate Governor Maggie Hassan and named her its New Hampshire Champion for Common Sense. ARS PAC also announced today it is airing a new 30-second ad in the New Hampshire Senate race. The ad, ARS PAC’s first of the 2016 election cycle, is titled “Safety” and highlights Senator Kelly Ayotte’s votes to protect the loopholes that let dangerous people like felons and domestic abusers buy guns in New Hampshire without a criminal background check. According to recent research, 89% of likely Granite State voters supporting closing those loopholes in our gun background check laws.
The ad, which will also reach Granite State voters through targeted digital communications, is backed by a seven figure buy and will air for at least three weeks.
“Senator Ayotte is simply out of step with Granite Staters and in lockstep with the Washington gun lobbyists who back her campaign – and it is time to hold her accountable for her irresponsible votes,” said ARS PAC Political Director Zach Stewart. “While Senator Ayotte ignored her constituents and voted to protect the loopholes that let felons and domestic abusers get guns with no questions asked, Governor Hassan will be strong voice in the United States Senate for responsible steps that help keep guns of the wrong hands and save lives. We are proud to call her our 2016 New Hampshire Champion for Common Sense.”
In April 2013, Senator Ayotte voted against a bipartisan proposal to close the loopholes in federal law that let felons, domestic abusers, and the dangerously mentally ill buy a gun without a criminal background check, even though February 2013 research found that 91 percent of New Hampshire voters – including 90 percent of gun owners – supported the measure. In December 2015, Senator Ayotte once again voted to protect the loopholes in our background check system and also voted against closing the so-called “terror gap,” which lets known and suspected terrorists legally purchase firearms. She has also declined to sign on to a bipartisan measure to protect victims of domestic violence and stalking by reducing abusers’ and stalkers’ access to firearms. Governor Hassan has voiced her support for all of these commonsense steps.
TRANSCRIPT: “Safety”
Right now criminals and the dangerously mentally ill can buy guns without a background check.
Nearly 9 out of 10 Granite Staters would close that loophole. Republicans. Democrats. Gun owners. Police.
But Senator Kelly Ayotte voted against more background checks.
She stands with the Washington gun lobby. They fund her campaigns.
Why is Senator Ayotte playing politics with our safety?