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Kelly Ayotte: I Didn’t Want to Expand A Flawed System

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AYOTTE

New Hampshire Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte has been one of the prime targets of the Gun Control Industrial Complex ever since she cast a vote against the Manchin-Toomey background check amendment. Our friends at MAIG have tapped into Mayor Mike’s bottomless wallet to run ads in The Granite State accusing her of having “gone Washington.” Now, she’s pushing pack. Reader tank03 sent us a link to an op-ed she penned for the Manchester Union-Leader, explaining her position to Live Free or Die-ers back home . . .

Out-of-state special interests are running false ads attacking me and even lying about my efforts to prevent gun-related violence. I want to set the record straight: I support effective background checks and in fact voted recently to improve the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).

As a former prosecutor who served for five years as New Hampshire’s attorney general, I have a demonstrated record of punishing criminals and strengthening public safety. Having worked as a murder prosecutor, I’ve witnessed horrific crime scenes. I’ve spent time with victims – and I’ve worked day and night to put violent offenders behind bars.

From my experience working with police chiefs, detectives and prosecutors, I know how important it is to have laws that work – and I know how important it is to enforce the laws we have on the books.

Despite what the false attack ads say, I helped introduce and voted for the Protecting Communities and Preserving the Second Amendment Act, which improves the existing background check system, addresses mental health gaps in the criminal justice system, boosts resources to improve school safety, and criminalizes gun trafficking and straw purchases. The legislation also puts teeth into the law by creating a high level federal task force to increase the prosecution of gun-related violence.

Also, given the clear connection between mental illness and mass violence tragedies at Newtown, Aurora and Virginia Tech, I cosponsored and voted for the Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act. This bipartisan measure includes provisions of legislation I helped introduce that seeks to improve mental health first aid training and increase the effectiveness of mental health care across the nation. This amendment passed the Senate overwhelmingly by a vote of 95 to 2.

It’s clear that criminals who attempt to illegally purchase firearms aren’t being prosecuted as they should be – and have not been for years. For example, in 2010, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms screened 76,142 NICS denials. Of those, charges were brought in only 44 cases – and resulted in just 13 successful prosecutions. This sends the message to criminals that there won’t be any consequences when they try to get their hands on guns.

Some of my colleagues want to expand the broken background check system we have now. In my view, we shouldn’t be expanding a flawed system. The focus should be on fixing the existing system, which criminals are flouting. We need to make sure we are enforcing current law and prosecuting those who attempt to illegally obtain firearms. And we must ensure that NICS includes records currently not being entered in the system, including mental health adjudications where an individual is found to be a danger to themselves and others.

There are no easy answers. Even if the proposed expansion of background checks had been in place, it wouldn’t have prevented the Sandy Hook tragedy, where the perpetrator obtained the firearms he used by killing his own mother, who owned them lawfully.

Like citizens across New Hampshire, I want to find solutions that will stop criminals and those who are mentally ill from obtaining firearms. I want to make sure we punish those who try to access guns illegally. And I want to improve the nation’s mental health system so that those who are on the front lines can identify the warning signs of mental illness and help those in need get proper help.

In the Senate, I know that there are members of both parties who want to find common ground on this important issue. And my commitment to the people of New Hampshire is that I will continue to try to work across the aisle to prevent violence, enforce and improve our broken background check system, strengthen mental health services, and increase school safety, all while protecting the constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans.

Misleading television and radio ads are counterproductive and only help to poison this important discussion.

0 thoughts on “Kelly Ayotte: I Didn’t Want to Expand A Flawed System”

  1. Now, to seal the deal, all she has to do is add the following at the bottom of all of her political literature: “Mike Bloomberg did not approve this message.”

    Game, set, and match.

    Reply
  2. We all think in terms of “thank God that was not me.” But we need to take emotion out of our decision making. Too many people will have sympathy for him.

    He was a cop who beligerantly careless. Time for jail, oh I know, it was the guns fault.

    The problem is without sending him to jail or punishing the wife for letting him slide on safety, the boy who fired the shot will have guilt forever.

    I love all these “accidental shootings”. They are not, they are negligent, especially when someone is “cleaning” their gun.

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  3. “It’s clear that criminals who attempt to illegally purchase firearms aren’t being prosecuted as they should be – and have not been for years. For example, in 2010, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms screened 76,142 NICS denials. Of those, charges were brought in only 44 cases – and resulted in just 13 successful prosecutions. This sends the message to criminals that there won’t be any consequences when they try to get their hands on guns.”

    This is the part of her letter that needs to be brought to the attention of those who feel that a universal background check is desperately needed. The fact that background checks have been in place since the enactment of the Brady bill for most purchases, yet the government has not followed through.
    If the government did not follow through on it’s obligations with the BGCs then, why would it be different now, in an era of fiscal cutbacks? Amazing we hear the antis rave on and on with lies and half truths, yet not many bring this glaring omission to light. This little FACT is one that should be used by all on the Pro 2A side, whenever an anti demands BGCs.

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  4. As a native of the “Live Free or Die” state, I’ve been following Senator Ayotte for years. I think that she was an effective state prosecutor. She wasn’t the kind that was always trying to get in front of the cameras for self promotion. I’ve met her a few times (one of the benefits of living in a small state) and she seems to be the real deal. Her husband is former military and together, she and her husband are small business owners. I think that she “gets it” on guns. Someone once said “If you’re getting a lot of flak, you must be right on target.” Senator Ayotte is right in the cross hairs.

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  5. I’m glad that I read this thing carefully before forwarding it to friends stating that the US DofD had involved itself in Internet police-state matters communicating directly with a US citizen domestically.

    ‘BREAKING: Dept. of Defense Shuts Down Defense Distributed’
    — That is incorrect. It says:
    “The Department of State, Bureau of Political Military Affairs, Office of Defense Trade Controls Compliance, Enforcement Division (DTCC/END)”

    Reply
  6. Its ok… if you didn’t get the download you can get it here:

    First download uTorrent or similar:
    http://www.utorrent.com/downloads/complete/os/win

    Install it… its a great little torrent tool.
    open it up…
    Go to file >> “Add torrent from URL”

    Paste this in there :

    magnet:?xt=urn:btih:0ad7b4f1833e01a3f2fa5613d8fc46de622339ac&dn=DefDist+Defcad+Liberator+Printable+Gun&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Ftracker.openbittorrent.com%3A80&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Ftracker.publicbt.com%3A80&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Ftracker.istole.it%3A6969&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Ftracker.ccc.de%3A80

    Click “OK” and then immediately profit from shared global information (liberator.zip)

    Reply
  7. Pretty sad that a proposition to restore the basic tenets of a free human right is such a “wow” factor piece.

    All the problems of this nation would be solved if every big city was just assimilated into one mega-city. Preferably one on a fault line.

    Reply
  8. Hahahaha watching biden in the background frowning I realized he looks like jeff dunhams dummy walter. If only he was sitting on jeff’s lap with jeff’s hand up his ass would we hear something intelligent or atleast funny come out of his mouth.

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  9. As a native of the land where “Yankee” is a complement (currently transplanted to Arizona), I wish we had more representatives of Representative Ayotte’s caliber.

    Looking over to the Union-Leader website, it alarms me to see the number of ignorant fools posting there, people who have bought the gun grabbers’ accusations against Representative Ayotte. “No system is perfect, so you should have voted for what they put on the table!” Completely ignoring the evidence, those people wholeheartedly believe that even the most ill-considered of laws must prevent further mass killings.

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  10. What the…?!?

    Something nice said about a democrat ’round here? I’m floored.

    Sorry; couldn’t resist. :]

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  11. Now I know you’re completely off track. Where did I mention anything about anyone outside America being a victim? Here’s what I asked: “Since when is it in society’s best interest to make me or my family victims?”

    My right to defend myself is not a wedge of any kind, and the only one trying to use anything as a blanket is you for saying anyone who wants a gun for defense is “afraid.” Link all the Jon Stewart videos you want. It doesn’t change any facts at all, namely the fact that Gregg, Jeff, and I have dismantled all your arguments one by one and you’re left trying to spin something I never said. Knock yourself out.

    I don’t know why facts frighten you, but live in your bubble and stop bothering the rest of the real world.

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  12. I’m very curious what happened to the person or people who cost Reed a contract with a 30-year history.

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  13. “However, since this involves guns and the majority of EFF donors seem to be of the Democratic persuasion, Cody might get the cold shoulder and have to resort to other lawyers to help him out.”

    I have no idea why you think people who vote democrat do so in lock-step agreement with national policy. I guess because republicans vote that way? Most progressives have slammed Obama hard of late due to his continuation and expansion of Bush-era privacy and rights violations.

    Either way I can’t remember the EFF ever taking a partisan stance the way the NRA routinely does.

    Reply
  14. I’m pissed! I downloaded the megapack last month (carothers) and it’s corrupted.

    Does anyone have a copy of it, or a later version? Or maybe how to “uncorrupt” it? It’s a zip file, I seem to remember a way to at least get some of the files out.

    Anyone have an idea?

    Thanks

    Reply
  15. Excellent. Now I can add Remington to my list with Armscor as my two preferred ammunition vendors … preferred because both companies are investing in ammunition production capacity which should not only ease the scarce supply but also reduce prices.

    Reply

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