Granite Staters To Deliver Petitions On Thursday In Concord Calling On Senator Kelly Ayotte To Stop Bowing To Gun Lobby, Vote To Close The "Terror Gap" In Gun Sales

CONCORD, N.H., May 29, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is being released by Mayors Against Illegal Guns:

Gun violence survivors, veterans and concerned citizens will deliver petitions to the Concord office of Senator Kelly Ayotte on Thursday, calling on her to stop bowing to the NRA and vote for legislation to close the "Terror Gap" in our system and keep guns away from potential terrorists. In April, Ayotte voted with the Washington gun lobby and against the overwhelming majority of Granite Staters who support life-saving background checks when she voted against bipartisan background check legislation sponsored by NRA A-rated Senators Joe Manchin and Pat Toomey. In doing so, Ayotte's vote would do nothing to keep guns away from potential terrorists.    

Under current law, suspected terrorists on the FBI's No Fly List can't board an airplane, but they can still legally purchase guns and explosives. This glaring loophole in our gun laws, called the "Terror Gap," could be fixed by ensuring the Department of Justice has the authority to bar gun sales to those on terror watch lists. There are currently bills pending in Congress that would close the Terror Gap, including legislation by Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Rep. Peter King (R-NY), which would give DOJ discretion, subject to judicial review, to block firearms and explosives sales to international and domestic terrorist suspects.

Since 2007, the Washington gun lobby has blocked efforts to keep guns out of the hands of suspected terrorists, opposing numerous bills seeking to close the Terror Gap. The latest data on the Terror Gap is available here, and Granite Staters who want to sign the petition to urge Senator Ayotte to vote to close the Terror Gap can visit http://www.TerrorGap.org.         

Event details are below.

Concord

What: Granite Staters to Deliver Petitions Calling on Senator Ayotte to Stop Bowing to Gun Lobby, Vote to Keep Guns Away from Potential Terrorists

Who: John Cantin, gun violence survivor and veteran

Where: New Hampshire State House - 107 N Main St, Concord, NH 03301

When: Thursday, May 30, 1:00 PM

About Mayors Against Illegal Guns
Since its creation in April 2006, Mayors Against Illegal Guns has grown from 15 members to more than 950 mayors from across the country. We have more than 1.5 million grassroots supporters, making us the largest gun violence prevention advocacy organization in the country.  The bipartisan coalition, co-chaired by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, has united the nation's mayors around these common goals: protecting communities by holding gun offenders accountable; demanding access to crime gun trace data that is critical to law enforcement efforts to combat gun trafficking; and working with legislators to fix weaknesses and loopholes in the law that make it far too easy for criminals and other dangerous people to get guns.  Learn more at www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org

MEDIA CONTACT
Erika Soto Lamb: [email protected] or 646-580-5281
Alex Katz: [email protected] or 617-721-3779

SOURCE Mayors Against Illegal Guns