Gun-control advocates are putting Senate Republicans on notice.
After the Senate on Monday rejected four gun control measures that would expand background checks and keep firearms out of the hands of suspected terrorists, critics are promising to take the fight to the ballot box.
{mosads}“We have the senators on record now: We know who voted for gun sense and who hid behind NRA talking points,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.
“We will make sure everyone remembers in November,” Watts added. “If our lawmakers are unwilling to do what we elected them to do, we will have no problem electing new leaders.”
The Senate has now voted down background check legislation twice under the Obama administration: The first time following the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting, and now just a week after the Orlando nightclub shooting.
Pro-gun control groups are pushing a number of state initiatives that would expand background checks in places like Maine and Nevada.
They’re also campaigning against Senate Republicans in tight races who voted against the gun control measures.
Eveyrtown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action are launching a get-out-the-vote initiative, and advocates plan to knock on doors ahead of the November elections.
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence is releasing a series advertisements targeted at the Republican senators who voted against closing a loophole that allows suspected terrorists to buy guns as long as they have not been convicted of such crimes.
In the online ads, Brady pretends that terrorists are writing a letter to each senator who voted against closing the loophole. “Thank you for voting to protect our right to buy guns,” it reads. There is a bullet hole in the bottom corner of the ad.