Giffords’ Group Targets McConnell, Ayotte Over Gun Vote

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Americans for Responsible Solutions, the group founded by former Rep. Gabrielle Gifffords (D-AZ) and her husband Mark Kelly to promote moderate gun control laws, will begin airing radio ads in Kentucky and New Hampshire Wednesday in order to hold Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) accountable for voting against background check legislation.

The New Hampshire ad attacks Ayotte for ignoring her constituents’ support of background check legislation. The ad asks listeners to call Sen. Ayotte and will air in Concord, Manchester, Keene and Seacoast. The Kentucky ad targets women voters and will air in Lexington and Louisville. McConnell is up for re-election in 2014 and Ayotte in 2016.

The group is spending several hundred thousand dollars on the ads, which will run for two weeks, a spokesperson told TPM.

“As Gabby said last week, if we can’t keep our communities safer with the congress we have, we will work to change congress, “ said Pia Carusone, the group’s executive director, said in a press release. “Senator McConnell and Senator Ayotte turned their backs on their constituents at home in order to do the bidding in Washington of the corporate gun lobby. We’re going to make sure their constituents know that, effective immediately.”

Here’s the script for the Ayotte ad, called “Ignored”:

Woman 1:  Remember that ad Kelly Ayotte ran saying she’s one of us.

 

Woman 2:  Oh, where she’s out for a run?

 

Woman 1:  (SFX: Newspaper rustling) Yeah.  Well, it sure didn’t take long for her to “go Washington.”  Says here Ayotte voted against improving background checks to keep guns out of the hands of criminals.

 

Woman 2:  Are you serious?   89 percent of the people in New Hampshire support universal background checks.  She just ignored us?

 

Woman 1: Sure did.  This was common sense legislation written by a Republican and a Democrat.  Supported by law enforcement.  And it protected Second Amendment rights.  But Ayotte voted against it anyway.

 

Woman 2:  And ignored the will of the people.

 

Woman 1:  Well, I’m calling Senator Ayotte and telling her to listen to the people for a change.  You should too.  The number is 202-224-3324.

 

Woman 2:  Paid for by Americans for Responsible Solutions.

Here’s the McConnell ad, called “Listen”:

(Montage of News clips from Newtown of the shooting).

 

Announcer: We watched.  We listened.  We felt it.  Newtown.

 

But Senator McConnell won’t listen to us.

 

Eighty-two percent of Kentuckians support universal background checks.  

 

But Senator McConnell voted against them. 

 

McConnell opposed common sense checks to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. 

 

Written by a Republican and a Democrat.  Supported by law enforcement officers.  It was a common sense plan that protected Second Amendment Rights. 

 

But Senator McConnell ignored the will of the people.  Making our children and our families less save…. And putting the Washington special interests ahead of Kentucky… AGAIN.

 

Call Senator McConnell at 202-224-2541. And tell him to start listening to us, for a change.

 

Paid for by Americans for Responsible Solutions.

 

*This post has been updated.

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