Progressive Group Pressures Baucus To Support Next Gun Bill With $50k Ad

FILE - This Jan. 10, 2013 file photo shows U.S. Sen. Max Baucus addressing the Montana Legislature in Helena, Mont. Democrats who long ago embraced pro-gun politics to gain a foothold in Western and other gun-friendl... FILE - This Jan. 10, 2013 file photo shows U.S. Sen. Max Baucus addressing the Montana Legislature in Helena, Mont. Democrats who long ago embraced pro-gun politics to gain a foothold in Western and other gun-friendly states are facing constituents angry with Washington's renewed call for a ban on assault weapons _ and they are doing so very cautiously. In Montana, the Clinton-era assault weapon ban vote nearly sank U.S. Sen. Baucus in 1996 _ and with Baucus up for re-election in 2014, gun advocates want to make sure he remembers his vote for the ban. (AP Photo/The Independent Record, Dylan Brown, file) MORE LESS
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The Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) on Wednesday unveiled a new television ad that attacks Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) for voting “no” on a bill that would have expanded background checks on gun buyers, while pressuring the retiring Democrat to support the next round of gun legislation.

In the ad, Claire Kelly, a Montana resident, described herself as “a grandmother, a hunter and a gun owner.”

“I’ve been the victim of a home invasion. I hid my girls in a closet, called for help, aimed my handgun at the door and waited. Guns can protect us but we’re less safe with guns in the wrong hands,” Kelly said. “Seventy-nine percent of Montana voters support background checks. So why did Senator Max Baucus vote against us? Senator Baucus, now that you’re retiring, please put Montana first.” 

The PCCC said its initial expenditure for the ad buy will be $50,000. Adam Green, co-founder of PCCC, said in a statement that the ad is designed to pressure Baucus, who was one of four red state Democrats to oppose the background checks legislation, to change his vote in the event that another gun bill is brought to the Senate. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), one of the co-authors of the background checks measure, has suggested that he intends to revive the legislation.

“Another vote will happen in the Senate,” Green said in the statement. “Max Baucus needs to choose whether he stands with the overwhelming majority of Montanans who support background checks or the gun manufacturers that profit by selling guns to criminals.”

Watch the ad:


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