Ayotte Votes to Advance Debate to Prevent Terrorists from Buying Guns

Press Release

U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte today released the following statement regarding her votes to advance debate on preventing terrorists from purchasing firearms:

"Terrorists should not be able to purchase firearms. Instead of playing politics with this important national security issue, I believe Republicans and Democrats need to work together on a solution that can actually pass the Senate."

"Despite flaws in both Senator Feinstein and Senator Cornyn's proposals, I voted to advance them so we can have this debate and an opportunity to get a result for the American people. Predictably, both proposals failed to move forward, and now it's time for the Senate to come together on behalf of the American people to get a real solution that ensures terrorists cannot purchase firearms and protects the Constitutional rights of American citizens."

"I have been working with my colleagues on a targeted, reasonable approach that would prevent terrorist suspects on the No Fly List and Selectee List -- which are small subsets of the broader terrorism watchlist and include individuals who pose heightened security threats-- from buying firearms, while also providing due process protections for Americans, and ensuring that a wrongfully denied person can recover attorney's fees and seek expedited removal from the No Fly or Selectee List. Critically, it also requires the Attorney General and federal, state, and local law enforcement to be immediately notified anytime an individual who currently is or has been investigated as a known or suspected terrorist in the last five years attempts to purchase a firearm so they can follow up with appropriate action. This provision would potentially have caught the terrorist in the Orlando attack."

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