Concerned residents from Nashua put the "action" in "Organizing for Action" this past week. A group of women gathered in a home tucked away behind Greeley Park. Our primary order of business was writing letters to the editor to take head-on the need for common sense gun laws.
Together with the facts straight from the Manchin-Toomey Bipartisan bill and our own words, we learned how we could get our voices heard by putting pen to paper. Voices that we believe are not currently being represented by our elected official Senator Kelly Ayotte.
Even though New Hampshire is decidedly not anti-gun, there is an overwhelmingly support for background checks. A recent survey by the Pew Research Center done May 1st - 5th, 2013, puts Senator Ayotte's recent vote against what 84% of what our state wants when it comes to stricter laws.
As we spoke throughout the night, there were conversations on why each of us had shown up. Some of us had personal reasons, a personal history with gun violence. Others wanted so desperately to change the path our country is going with the current gun deaths plaguing our nation. We all agreed on one thing, we want to make the US safer for our children, our future.
Sue from Nashua said "I came tonight to be with people who are like minded, people who support background checks."
Sue is not alone, there are many who think like her. According to the same survey mentioned above, with 37% of our state owning guns, most not only want background checks, they don't believe that enforcing them would infringe on their second amendment right.
Senator Ayotte has lost voters across the board since voting against what our state wants when it comes to the stricter laws. Her approval rating has tanked the most out of all the Senators who voted against the Manchin-Toomey bill.
"I believe in background checks and I'm discouraged at Senator Ayotte's vote," Nona, another Nashua resident said, "I'm here tonight doing what I can to get this country the background checks it deserves."
Is there redemption for Senator Kelly Ayotte? According to the survey, 31 percent are more likely to support the Senator if she changes her mind on background checks, with only ten percent of the granite states republicans saying they would be less likely to support her.
Still many are left scratching their heads as to why she voted against the bill in the first place.
"I don't understand how someone could be a mom and not want her children to be safe." Nikki, a new mother said. "How can you not see the victims from Newtown and every child killed since and not think, that could have been my child? What can I do to keep my children safer? She's in a position where she can actually do something about the violence, and yet she turns her back on it and on New Hampshire."
As we started to leave for the night we focused on one thing, getting the job done. Our end goal is to get the senator to hear us and change her mind the next time the bill comes up in congress. We will keep gathering, writing letters, and growing as we do. We will keep standing on corners holding signs, so she can see us, so she can hear us. We will keep up with "actions" to get the stricter background checks this country needs to protect us.
