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Senators, Reps react to Orlando shooting

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The deadly terrorist shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida has prompted a new wave of support for gun control legislation among Democrats in Washington, D.C.

Senate Democrats plan to force a vote on a measure to prohibit people on the terrorist watch list from purchasing guns. 

Sen. Kelly Ayotte voted against a similar measure in December, although she supported a Republican alternative that provides more avenues for a gun purchaser to appeal his or her placement on the terrorist watch list.

"We need to understand this is about terrorism," Ayotte told NH1. "And if gun control was going to resolve this we wouldn't have what happened in Paris. They have some of the strongest laws in the world." 

Shaheen voted for the measure last December.

"If you are on a no-fly list and you're not allowed to get on a plane, then you shouldn't be able to buy a gun," said Shaheen. "It's pretty simple." 

In the House of Representatives, some Democrats (not including Rep. Annie Kuster from New Hampshire) walked out during a moment of silence to protest Congress's inaction on gun control.

"If the LGBT community has taught us anything, it's that silence is the enemy of progress," explained Rep. Katherine Clark from Massachusetts. "I refuse to take part in a moment of silence by a Congress that takes part in empty gestures rather than do something - anything - that could actually prevent these horrific acts from happening." 

Kuster has not issued a statement related to gun control since the Orlando attack. However, in the past she has supported efforts to expand background checks for firearm purchases. 

Rep. Frank Guinta has issued a statement criticizing the President for focusing on gun control rather than radical Islam in the wake of the attack.

"The President, whose soaring rhetoric propelled him into office, knows better than most the power of words to unite people around a common cause. Words confer meaning. Which is what makes his refusal to identify the perpetrators of the latest terror attack in Orlando so disturbing. Radical Islamic terrorists are at war with the United States," said Guinta. 

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