Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., attempted to beat back the negative reaction and her sinking poll numbers since opposing a bill to expand background checks on gun purchases in an op-ed piece explaining her stance on the issue,
Politico reports.
"Out of state special interests are running false ads attacking me and even lying about my efforts to prevent gun-related violence," Ayotte wrote in the op-ed, published by Patch websites in New Hampshire on Monday. “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)."
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Ayotte has been attacked for voting against the compromise bill crafted by Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., which would've made background checks for sales at gun shows and on the internet mandatory.
Instead, she supported an alternative measure written by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, which instead focused on encouraging states to submit mental health information to the background check database.
"Some of my colleagues want to expand the broken background check system we have now," Ayotte wrote. "In my view, we shouldn't be expanding a flawed system. The focus should be on fixing the existing system, which criminals are flouting."
Two major gun control groups — Michael Bloomberg's Mayors Against Illegal Guns and former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' Americans for Responsible Solutions — have run ads in New Hampshire attacking Ayotte.
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