Before saying anything about New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, let's establish one thing: Although the Manchin-Toomey background check proposal would have expanded background checks for gun purchases, it wouldn't have created a national firearms registry.
In fact, it would have strengthened existing law barring the creation of any such registry and stiffened penalties against any official who violated or tried to violate the prohibition.
With that said, check out Ayotte's explanation on Thursday afternoon for why she voted against expanded background checks:
I will tell you in terms of a universal background check, as it's been framed, I have a lot of concerns about that leading to a registry that will lead to a privacy situation for lawful firearms owners.
That's total bull. The
text of the legislation would have explicitly prohibited the creation of a national gun registry in not one, not two, but three separate places. Section 102:
Congress supports and reaffirms the existing prohibition on a national firearms registry.
Section 103:
Nothing in this title, or any amendment made by this title, shall be construed to allow the establishment, directly or indirectly, of a Federal firearms registry.
And section 122 amends Section 923 of title 18 of the U.S. Code by barring the attorney general from consolidating or centralizing any of the records generated from background checks. A 15-year jail sentence and monetary fines
would apply to any official creating or attempting to create a national gun registry.
So Ayotte's excuse was completely bogus. But don't worry, because she says she still wants to do something about the background check system:
However, I do believe that our current system should be fixed.
That's another lie, because if she couldn't vote for Manchin-Toomey, which was about as weak a measure as you could possibly imagine, then there's nothing she can vote for.