Dems: Ayotte Misleading Public About Gun Control Support

At a town hall meeting in Hudson on Oct. 24, U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-NH, stated she supported a gun control measure that she actually voted against, a move that she has been under fire for taking since April.

At the event, John Cantin of Manchester, a gun control advocate who has been vocal, along with others, about the need for better background checks, talked to Ayotte about October being domestic violence awareness month and how he lost his daughter at the hands of a husband with a gun. He called the current laws “elusive” and stated that states with stricter laws have fewer domestic violence crimes. Cantin said crime in the state would be improved by better laws.

“I’m asking you to please reconsider and support legislation that would be a better fit for New Hampshire,” he said.

Ayotte thanked Cantin for coming to the event and said no one could understand what he had been through. She added that she supported expanded domestic violence prevention efforts and co-sponsored mental health legislation, which she hoped would prevent more mass shootings.

“I think there are some areas where we can find common ground,” she said.

When talking about the gun control measures in the Senate, Ayotte stated that she thought the Senate should “fix some of the problems” with background check issues including record keeping. Ayotte then stated she supported the Manchin-Toomey effort, something Cantin had been advocating for but that Ayotte actually voted against.

“The legislation, I know you wanted me to support, the Manchin-Toomey, that I did support, would have done that,” she said.

The question was recorded and posted on YouTube by the New Hampshire Democratic Party, with party officials saying Ayotte was “misleading” voters since she voted against the provision.

Ayotte’s vote against Manchin-Toomey enraged gun control advocates around the country but gained praise for 2nd Amendment advocates too. Ayotte, instead, supported the Grassley-Cruz Amendment, that she claimed would have done the same things.

After the vote, Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns group began broadcasting ads in New Hampshire condemning Ayotte’s vote.

Republican colleagues and the NRA countered with their own ads.

Mayors Against Illegal Guns in June staged a publicity campaign of the reading of the names of gun violence victims since Newtown in December 2012, a rally Cantin participated in during its stop in Concord. Later, a man who approached Cantin at the rally was Tased by Concord Police after allegedly shoving an officer.

Democrats pounced on the misspeak on Oct. 25, calling the comments “shameful” and suggesting she made them because her polling numbers are in a free fall.

“Kelly Ayotte sided with the Washington gun lobby instead of New Hampshire, and months later her only defense is deception,” said New Hampshire Democratic Party Communication Director Harrell Kirstein, in a statement. “She opposed bipartisan commonsense background check legislation that would have helped keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill who could pose a danger to themselves and others. With Granite Staters holding her accountable and her public poll numbers in free fall, Ayotte has given up trying to explain her irresponsible vote. Instead she is claiming she actually voted for the bill she voted against.”

Jeff Grappone, a spokesman for Ayotte’s Washington, D.C., office, called the attack by Democrats "absurd," adding that she was trying to find common ground on the issue.

“This is an absurd attack," Grappone stated in an email. "Senator Ayotte’s votes on this issue are well-known. She was obviously discussing her vote in support of the Grassley legislation to fix the broken background check system and enhance prosecutions, as well as her vote in support of legislation to strengthen our mental health system. Furthermore, the Senator made the point that we can find common ground on mental health, even when we disagree on other issues.”